


Off Limits!

by MahouUni



Category: Pentagon (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - After College/University, Enemies to Lovers, Explicit Language, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Maybe a little soft smut in later chapters but nothing crazy, based loosely off Humph MV, light drinking here and there, mostly feelings and warm fuzzies and laughs here
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-21
Updated: 2019-11-02
Packaged: 2020-09-23 06:29:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 20,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20335609
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MahouUni/pseuds/MahouUni
Summary: Jo Jinho would be happy if he never saw any of his ridiculous High School baseball teammates ever again, especially Adachi Yuto.Lee Hwitaek would take his childhood grudge against Jung Wooseok to the grave if that’s what it came down to.Kang Hyunggu would let Yan An and Changgu fight for his affections for an eternity.But Ko Shinwon would never be happy unless he did like he always had done and gotten everyone together despite their clash of personalities.(AKA It’s five years after the Humph! MV and those upset baseball boys are at it again)





	1. Round 1

**Author's Note:**

> Heya!
> 
> This is my first fanfic/AU in a looong time so first off: Hello! Thanks for reading! And secondly: Errors will probably be around but I’ll keep an eye out! 
> 
> This short series will be broken into four parts and it all loosely takes place in the same universe as the Humph! MV! So if you need a refresher give it a stream! 
> 
> Trying to get a feel writing these boys cause I’d hopefully like to write more AU’s with them in the future!
> 
> Anywho! Stan Pentagon and enjoy~

_You’re_ _Invited_! 

_Class_ _of_ _2014’s_

_5_ _Year_ _Reunion_

No one dreaded receiving this particular piece of mail more than Jo Jinho. Sure, an invitation was much better than a bill or an expired coupon book, but this particular invitation was fated to end up at the bottom of the waste basket within seconds of opening. First of all, who the hell celebrated a five year reunion? Wasn’t a minimum of ten the standard? And even if it was, Jinho still wouldn’t go because he had his pride. Only pathetic losers who couldn’t shirk the chip off their shoulders from the past five years would show, and he for one had moved on from his “golden years”. 

...He may also have been scared out of his mind to bump into a certain group of people, but that was neither here nor there (or at least that’s what he convinced himself). 

Nope, no way in hell Jo Jinho, the brilliant grad school music production student, would go to that High School reunion. 

—-

“Hell yes, we gotta get Jinho to go with us to that High School reunion!” An eager grin spread across a handsome young man’s face as he leaned across the cafe table. He called himself a model, but his friends just called him Shinwon. 

“Why are you so hell-bent on him going, Wonnie? If the man doesn’t want to go, the man doesn’t want to go.” 

Almost as icy as his frosty blue hair, an unamused Kang Hyunggu barely lifted his gaze from his phone as he rejected Shinwon’s enthusiasm. His friends called him sensitive, but he preferred to be called Kino. 

“Come on, it would be so fun and you know it!” Shinwon mused, “Jinho was the heart of our team back in the day. Meeting up without him would be pointless.” 

“I would hardly have called us a team, Shinwon. I’m pretty sure I held my baseball bat upside down half the time.” 

Shinwon groaned and lurched forward, splaying his arms across the tiny table they were sharing coffee over, while his calm companion tapped away at his phone screen. Kino had a point, the Tentastic Baseball Team never won any rookie of the year awards (let alone any games), but damn it! This was their team, their school, and their memories! 

“Ggu,” Shinwon took on a more serious tone, finally earning a sliver of Kino’s attention, “Have you hung out with Jinho lately? Because I have, and to be perfectly frank with you, I’m worried.”

Kino set his phone down, leveling up his level 30 Jimin card in BTS World could wait if it meant helping a friend.

“He doesn’t leave his apartment unless it’s to go to class. He locks himself up in the studio for days on end, no sunlight, no friends, no nothing. He’s working through the best years of his life.” 

“He has been rather quiet in the group chat,” Kino frowned. “I thought it was just Changgu’s memes, but now that you mention all of this…”

“Getting the team back together, being with the guys again...I think that would really break him back out of his shell!” Shinwon excitedly opens his arms with a great big revelatory smile. Kino couldn’t help but chuckle at his friend’s eagerness.

Classic Shinwon. Kino thought to himself, Always playing the mediator. 

“While that does sound just peachy, Wonnie, I think we’re forgetting the elephant in the room here.” Kino crossed his arms, leaning back into his chair. 

“Okay, okay, I won’t wear my freshman year gym shorts, but I gotta say I’ve been working out and it’s not half bad back the-“

“I meant _you_ _know_ _who_.”

“Voldemort?” Shinwon looked around in confusion. 

Kino shot one of his infamous icy glares at his well-meaning pal, “Wonnie.”

Shinwon sank into his seat, letting out a groan even a teenager would find dramatic. “It’ll be fine, dude! Yuto’s a totally different guy now!”

“And what about Wooseok? And Hongseok? Are they all patron saints these days?” Kino leaned forward to meet his gaze with the deflated model boy. 

“As a matter of fact, Honk just switched to paperless billing for his cell phone plan. He cares deeply about Mother Earth.” 

“Those guys were such assholes to Jinho! Not to mention whatever life-long feud was raging on between Wooseok and Hui. We couldn’t go one practice without one of them starting shit, remember? Do you want to spend another night playing the proverbial referee? ‘Cause I don’t!”

Kino, much like Shinwon, had always ended up being the mediator within their team, wanting what was best for everyone, even if it cost them their sanity. But Kino had moved on from that part of his life, he was now focused on his new career as a kindergarten teacher...which he ironically realized brought him full circle to breaking up a bunch of squabbling children once again, but hey, it really was his calling. Shinwon on the other hand spent his days slinging drinks at a popular cocktail bar, where he too interfered in a plethora of fights. A skills a skill, he always mused. 

“Come on, it’s been five years, Kino! We’ve got to at least try!” Shinwon looked completely dejected, throwing Kino off guard. 

“I don’t know,” Kino’s eyes flitted bashfully away from Shinwon.

“Ggu, wouldn’t it be nice to see _him_ again?” Shinwon’s voice lilted. 

_Shit_. Of course he’d bring _him_ up. Kino sighed, picking up his phone once again. But this time he swiped his game off-screen and pulled up his messenger. 

“You round up the shorties, I’ll round up the assholes. But each group can’t know the other is coming if we want this to work, got it?” Kino grumbled as he started adding names to his list. Shinwon punched up his arms in sweet, sweet victory, his body still ridiculously low in his chair, most of his body spilling onto the floor. 

“Yessss! Go team asshole!”

—- 

The Stone Frog wasn’t the most glamorous of bars, but it had a certain charm to it that most people couldn’t deny. Getting Jinho to come out for a drink seemed near impossible to Shinwon, thankfully it was made a hell of a lot easier thanks to 2 dollar chicken wing night. 

“Eat up, my friend! The wings are on me tonight!” Shinwon happily watched over his short friend as he made clean work of the plate in front of him. 

“You really know how to spoil a guy, Shinwon. What’s your discount on food here? You pay like fifty cents for these?” Jinho grinned between bites. 

“Hey, I giveth and I can taketh away, too.” Shinwon flung his bar rag off of his shoulder and started polishing the counter vigorously. 

After taking down half the pile in front of him, Jinho graciously blotted his face with his napkin, looking far too cordial for the likes of The Stone Frog. But Shinwon knew that look better than anybody: Jinho could sense Shinwon wanted something from him, and he was about to get straight to it.

“So,” Jinho’s voice overtook the classic rock blaring from the bar speakers, “What do these wings actually cost me?” 

Shinwon kept polishing the bar, his eyes nervously squinted into crescents. “You know what A$AP Rocky always says: your presence is a present, just to kick it is a blessing!’” 

“A$AP Rocky? God, I haven’t thought about that guy since highschool. Didn’t Wooseok listen to him or something?” Jinho returned his focus to his bribe-Er, chicken wings. 

“Funny you mention Seokie,” Shinwon leaned against the bar, making sure to keep his eyes far away from Jinho’s, “I talked to him this morning and he said Hongseok and Yuto-“

“Christ, Shinwon. I knew something was up!” A chicken bone clattered onto the ceramic plate as Jinho scowled. 

“He-said-that-they-can’t-make-it-to-the-reunion-so-stop-assuming-things-Joji!” Shinwon blurted out in one breath, knowing that’s all Jinho would give him. 

Jinho may not have been the tallest man, but what he lacked in physical stature he more than made up for in deathly intense glares. Shinwon was very aware of this fact, currently being on the receiving end of one. 

“I’m not going to that reunion, regardless of the dumbass squad’s attendance.” Jinho pouted. 

“But what about,” Shinwon poked both of his cheeks as he desperately smiled, “My dumbass attendance! Plus we got like Changgu n’ Hyunggu and Hui and remember Yanan? The tall pretty one?” 

“I said I don’t want to talk about Yuto-” Jinho mumbled without thinking, Shinwon gasping in devilish delight as soon as the words left his mouth. 

“Well excuse me, I GOTTA GO PUT OUT THE CAUTION SIGN, CAUSE BITCH YOU JUST SLIPPED!”

Jinho’s face quickly turned a rosey shade of pink. No amount of fried meat could save him now. 

“You just called Adachi Yuto tall AND pretty!” Shinwon pointed at the befuddled singer. 

“Did not! I meant Yanan! Yanan! Yanan! Yanan!” Jinho’s once calm composure was now giving way to his child-like defenses. 

“You may be one of the greatest vocalists of our generation, but you’re one of the shittiest liars, dude!” Shinwon couldn’t hold back from laughing, nearly doubling over in disbelief at his friend. While his eyes were closed, he heard the swivel of a barstool and foot steps storming out of the bar. When he finally opened his eyes, Jinho was gone, the front door left swinging. 

Luckily for Shinwon, the only other person in the bar was the bouncer, who was giving a judgemental look to the tall brunette, having heard all of the guff he had given Jinho moments ago. Shinwon tossed his rag on to the bar top and ran outside to catch up with his friend. 

“Jinho! I’m sorry!” Shinwon called out after the shorter man. Jinho kept his fast pace up, his feet heading back in the direction of the studio like he was on autopilot. 

“Listen, Jinho, I’m worried about you. Please, hear me out.” Shinwon pleaded, stopping in his tracks. 

Jinho turned around, his glare from earlier returning. 

“What do you have to be worried about me for? I’m doing just fine, Shinwon! Worry about yourself for once!” 

“You know I’m no good at that.” Shinwon replied without a hint of sarcasm. Jinho couldn’t help but be moved by the slight frown on the maknae’s face. 

“Jinho, we never see you anymore. Even when half of us went to the same college, it’s like you wanted nothing to do with us and it sucks. We used to be so close.” 

“Some people just grow apart, Shinwon. It’s part of growing up.” 

“Well,” Shinwon puffed up his chest, “If you’re such an expert on growing up, why are you still so damn short?” 

“‘Are you serious right now?”

“I’m sorry, I deflect difficult topics through strategically implemented humor. You weren’t the only one paying attention in psychology.” 

“Wonnie,” Jinho moved closer towards Shinwon, “You know I don’t have a lot of friends, I just like to keep it that way. It makes things...simple. Back in highschool, back on the team, things were...not simple. A disaster, really. I’m just not good with people. I’m fine with that.”

Shinwon hugged Jinho, Jinho loosely wrapping his arms around his waist. 

“But you’re good with me.”

“You’re not people, Wonnie. You’re like a sentient Twizzler.” 

“I’m both offended and honored and ve-ry sure we gotta get you out more.”

“Do you...” Jinho tightened his grip on Shinwon a little, “Do you really want me to go to the reunion with you?”

“More than anything, Hyung.” 

“And Yuto won’t be there?”

Shinwon’s eyes looked everywhere but down towards Jinho, “He’s, uh, hiking that weekend.” 

The cool night air could be heard as Shinwon waited for a response from his reluctant friend. The two in some sort of hugging stand-off, not letting go of the other until one caved. Luckily for Shinwon, Jinho was still hungry. 

“...I want ten more barbecue, and a box of lemon pepper to go.” 

“Thank you, Jinho.” 

A slight vibration from Shinwon’s back Jean pocket broke the tender friend moment. 

It better be worth it, Jinho hasn’t doled out physical affection in months. Shinwon grumbled internally as he reached for his phone. He lifted the screen up towards himself, revealing a message certainly worth the interruption:

**Kino**

_Team Asshole is go. I repeat, Team Asshole is go. _

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	2. Get That Drink

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The reunion is upon us! We gettin’ a little angsty by the end here, slight warning about Honk being an asshole but it all goes somewhere I promise.

The last time Jinho was in Violet Academy’s gymnasium he was five years younger, clad in a cheap suit his mother forced on him, and sipping lukewarm Sprite while avoiding any and all contact from his last-minute Prom date. Flash forward to the night of the Five-Year Reunion and he was now far more mature, wearing Shinwon approved clothing, and sipping lukewarm beer while avoiding...well, everyone. The gym was bathed in a dim, pink light, while the sounds of early 2000’s pop music filled the room with a mild-at-best energy. Out of the 200 students in their graduating class it seemed like only 60 or so had bothered to show. 

Shinwon had dressed Jinho in a black button down shirt paired with a black choker and fitted black jeans. He felt confident in his look, if not a bit overdressed, but he could think of twenty thousand other things he wanted to be doing other than standing around trying to market his sex appeal in front of his old chem teacher. 

“Holy shit, is that  _ the  _ Jo Jinho?!” An enthusiastic voice rang out from the corner of the room, putting Jinho into red alert. He turned and found himself face to face with the brightest smile and brightest blonde hair a person could ever be blessed with; it was Violet Academy’s esteemed short-stop Yeo Changgu. 

“Hey, Yeo One.” Jinho nodded towards the taller man. Changgu was one of the most popular people at the academy back in their day, and his popularity only seemed to increase after graduation, seeing as he was now a fledgling actor who was the face of a laundry detergent commercial campaign. 

“What have you been up to, man? You’ve been dead quiet in the group chat, I was starting to think it was because of me!” Changgu chuckled.

Jinho looked away, trying to let his poor excuse of a poker face not ruin his already distant friendship, “Ah, nah, man. I love a good business cat meme, I’ve just been busy with grad school and all. Been producing my first demo.” 

Changgu slapped Jinho on the back, flashing one of his best detergent-selling smiles, “Man, you’re still the coolest, Hyung! Remind me to grab your autograph before the nights over!”

The night had started off shockingly smooth to Jinho’s surprise. Changgu and him shot the shit about commercials and song writing, while Shinwon and former team captain Hui were busy stuffing their faces with as much free food as they humanly could. For a moment Jinho had wondered why he was ever even worried about attending the reunion, until he saw Changgu’s head whip around to look at the two people who had just entered the gymnasium.

“Kino! Yanan! Over here!” Shinwon jumped up and down excitedly while waving at the two elegant men. 

Just by himself, Kino was a sight for sore eyes; always dressed to impress with the perfect makeup, but standing next to someone equally as stunning as Yanan made the room feel like a runway. Not only was Yanan tall and slender, but he had the sort of kind eyes and smile that only he and a basket full of newborn puppies possessed. His pink hair was styled flawlessly, making the pale glow of his skin stand out even more from under his semi-opaque button down shirt. It was unfair, really, but somehow the team had all gotten used to their supernatural beauty and accepted themselves for the lowly peasants they were in comparison. 

Except for Changgu.

“Hyunggu-ah!” Changgu beamed at the blue-haired man, immediately turning his whole body away from Jinho to greet him. 

“I told you to call me Kino, Ggu!” Kino whined with a bright smile, playfully batting his hand at Changgu’s arm. Changgu looked over at Yanan who stayed glued to Kino’s side. They exchanged cold nods before Changgu returned to his perky demeanor when looking back at Kino. 

“You look great, Hyun-Kino! Violet has always been your color.” Changgu gestures at Kino’s outfit: A loose knit violet sweater, bearing a good portion of his collar bones, paired with dark wash skinny jeans and clean white sneakers. He had a light dusting of pink eyeshadow and a subtle highlight on his already prominent cheekbones. No wonder Changgu was so whipped. 

“Thanks, Ggu! Yanan actually got me this sweater for my birthday last year! Never got a chance to wear it until now.” Kino grins. Yanan’s lips tugged into a snide smirk upon hearing his name mentioned, keeping direct eye contact with Changgu. 

“Which reminds me,” Yanan cocked his head to the side, “Yeo One, what detergent do you represent again?” 

“Oh, you mean: Dawnie!  _ If it’s not fresh, it’s not the best! _ ” Changgu imitates his commercial ending pose, grinning widely as he points upwards and winks. 

“Yeah, Dawnie! That’s the one!” Yanan claps his hands together. 

“Oh, you’ve seen my commercials then?” 

“No, no, I was just trying to remember the brand that makes people break out into hives! Thanks for reminding me. Make sure to dry clean your sweater, Kino-yah-” Yanan grabbed Kino by the hand and dragged him towards the rest of the group, turning his head to shoot another dirty look at Changgu, “It was  _ very expensive. _ ”

Changgu’s fists clenched at his sides, ready to fight if they hadn’t been ten steps away from the sweet old librarian who sometimes brought her dog to school.

_ I can’t believe this is still going on. Five years later and Kino’s still leading them on.  _ Jinho mused to himself, finishing his second drink of the night. A third and fourth would definitely be necessary. 

Another hour had passed, and while the night really hadn’t gotten any better, it also didn’t seem to get much worse, and Jinho could live with that. If nothing else, the cutting jabs and glances Yanan and Changgu were serving back and forth made for decent entertainment. It was like a drama show come to life, only the object of their affection wasn’t a ditzy schoolgirl or a feudal princess, but a colorful boy who loved attention more than he could probably ever love one person. 

“Yo, Jinho,” Hui slung his arm around Jinho’s shoulder, “We still good for our bet?” 

“I had twenty dollars on Yanan to win, right?” 

“Yeah, my money was on Changgu but uh...I’m not so sure anymore.” Hui nodded his head towards the lively love triangle who were posted up by the refreshments table with Shinwon. Changgu and Shinwon were both doing their best walrus impersonations with some skillfully placed pretzel sticks. Yanan never looked more sure of himself in his life. Jinho and Hui broke out laughing at the sight of Shinwon accidentally inhaling one of the pretzel sticks and Changgu forcibly slapping it out of him, the saliva covered stick landing promptly on Kino’s  _ expensive  _ sweater. Glad he wasn’t the only one morbidly enjoying their chaos, Jinho actually found himself feeling happy he came to the event, if not just to laugh at his fellow idiot friends with Hui. 

Jinho had always looked up to Hui, even though he was a year younger. Out of all of his team members, Hui seemed the most level headed, which made him a natural born leader. Sadly his poor baseball skills made him a bad  _ baseball  _ team leader, having once ran the bases in reverse in a moment of panic, but he had morale in spades when needed. The only thing that ever got in the way of Hui’s keen sense of direction was a young, insanely tall, whisp of a boy named Jung Wooseok. The same Jung Wooseok who he had been holding a grudge against since the first grade for reasons still unknown. The very same Jung Wooseok who was walking into the gym with his very foreboding, totally-shouldn’t-be-at-the-reunion, entourage. 

Over at the refreshments table. Kino and Shinwon had caught sight of Wooseok, Hongseok, and Yuto entering the reunion. They exchanged nervous glances, both nodding silently, readying themselves for what would surely be their early graves. But what else would two good, meddlesome mediators be if they couldn’t trick their friends into loving each other again? 

First to enter was Wooseok: the youngest member of the Tentastic baseball team, though you wouldn’t be able to tell from height and voice alone. He had long, slightly waved, black hair that dangled in front of large, dark eyes. Wooseok was generally dressed in casual street wear, today being no exception in his Supreme hoodie and ripped jeans. He had always had a strong presence, but it felt somewhat awkward and child-like, even in his twenties. Shinwon and Changgu had always joked that Wooseok was like a puppy that hadn’t grown into his paws yet. His lanky stature made running the bases a relative breeze for him, but he always preferred slacking off and reading manga on the bench instead of actively participating in games. 

Second behind Wooseok was the other infamous Tentastic Seok: Yang Hongseok. He was the team’s resident heart throb. seeing as more than half of the school had asked him out before he had graduated. Not only was he athletic and smart, but he had spent a great deal of time abroad studying in various countries, only broadening his versatile appeal with the student body. Hongseok could come off as holier than thou at times, but he quipped that it was just part of his natural charm. His brunette hair faded into purple tips, matching perfectly with his dark purple velvet blazer and black dress pants. He was always one to dress up. 

The third and final member of the lovingly named “Team Asshole” was Adachi Yuto: the star pitcher of the team, and perhaps the only member to have exhibited any athletic talent at all. It was no surprise when he entered the gym wearing all black: a black loose t-shirt tucked into black joggers and black sneakers. He had gone by that color palette since he was 14 and he wasn’t about to stop now. His wavy dark brown hair was slightly tinted with red, framing his angular face so perfectly it was stupid. (How one baseball team could be so attractive, yet so incompetent was one of Violet Academy’s greatest mysteries.) The Japanese man was always known as the intimidating one, so few people dared looking in his direction for fear of catching one of his heated gazes. Jinho knew this all too well, being perhaps the most infamous target of Yuto’s quiet anger. 

But now the only person catching any anger was Shinwon, and it wasn’t from Yuto; it was from the 5 foot 6 grad student in the black skinny jeans. 

“Ko. Shin. Won.” Jinho mouthed angrily at the meddlesome man. Shinwon tried his best to feign awareness of the situation, but Jinho knew his friend too well: he most certainly set this whole thing up. 

“‘Ey! ‘Sup, guys?” Wooseok walked into the center of where the group was huddled, flashing peace signs with his slender hands. 

“Wooseok! Good to see you!” Yanan wrapped the tall Maknae in a friendly hug.

“You too, Yannie! Hey Kino! Hey Jinho!” Wooseok waved at his much shorter cohorts with a friendly smile. Kino waved back, Jinho kept glaring at Shinwon. 

“Listen Joji, I-“ Shinwon hurriedly tried to whisper, but an imposing figure had cut him off prematurely. 

“Hyung,” a low voice rumbled, “You’re blocking the food.” 

Yuto Adachi, hands in pocket, loomed over Shinwon and Jinho, as if bad karma had lead him straight to them. Shinwon and Jinho both shuffled to the side, granting the Japanese man access to the refreshments. For a moment Shinwon contemplated doing his walrus impersonation to lighten the mood, but one look at Kino’s sweater had him thinking again. If he had coughed up on Yuto god knows no retired school nurse in the room could save him.

“Nice seeing you too, Adachi.” Jinho growled under his breath. 

Yuto had caught what the smaller man mumbled, his eyes fixed on Jinho’s scowl. His gaze lingered long enough to unnerve the tiny musician, but Yuto’s eyes flitted towards the food after a moment. He picked up two cookies, turning to Jinho and extending one towards him. 

“It’s nice to see you again too, Hyung.” 

Jinho cocked an eyebrow, hastily reaching out to grab the cookie. There’s no way he could have poisoned it in the two seconds he was turned around, right?

“Th-thanks.” Jinho took the cookie and held it, scared to take a bite. 

Yuto popped his cookie into his mouth and turned to join in on Wooseok and Yanan’s conversation. Jinho heard them say something about razor scooters and fireworks, but missed out if this was a distant highschool memory or a recent outing. He was so caught up in staring at Yuto that the chatter of his exuberant teammates fell to the wayside. 

Yuto looked just as intimidating as he did five years ago, now even more so without their bright red uniforms adding a pop of whimsy to the gloomy boy’s wardrobe. 

Jinho handed his cookie to Shinwon, quickly slammed the last of his beer, crumpled the cup, and made a swift b-line for the exit. He had almost tasted the sweet, solitary, air of the hallway when he felt his body collide with a tall, sturdy figure. He looked up to see a sneering Hongseok.

“Leaving so soon, Hyung?” Hongseok dusted off his blazer, “You didn’t even say hi to me! I can’t help but feel a bit offended.”

“Hi Hongseok. Bye Hongseok.” Jinho tried to walk around him, but Hongseok held his arm over the exit door. 

“Listen Jinho, no need to be so cold. It’s been five years, surely you can read sarcasm by now. Now come on, let’s go mingle.” Hongseok wrapped his arm around Jinho’s shoulder, guiding him back towards the team in one fowl swoop. 

Jinho let out an exhausted groan as he gave up the ghost of leaving early. Shinwon handed him another cup of beer, “Sorry, Joji. Let’s have some fun though, okay?”

Jinho slammed the entire drink back, finishing it in mere seconds. Wooseok riled the rest of the team into a cheer, “Jinho! Jinho! Jinho!” Jinho wiped his mouth off with the back of his hand, his inhibition slowly but surely leaving. He caught eyes with Yuto, the only one of the bunch not cheering. 

_ What’s his deal? What’s he got against me? _

“Whose got what against who?” Hongseok quirked his eyebrow. Shit. Jinho definitely didn’t mean to say that out loud. 

“Nothin’.” Jinho waved it off. “Forget it.” 

“No, it’s definitely not something, shortie. Come on, I’m a glutton for gossip.” Hongseok pried with a sly smile. 

“There’s nothing to say and  _ don’t  _ call me shortie.” His words came out like a low growl, only pushing Hongseok to probe his former teammate further. Hongseok had always thrived on pushing people’s buttons. 

“Oh it wasn’t like a come on, I was just stating facts.” Hongseok let out one of his infamous holier-than-thou chuckles,”Though I’m sure you wouldn’t mind  _ me  _ hitting on you.”

“Lay. Off. Hongseok.” 

“You were always so quick to anger, short stuff. I know you’ve got a Napoleon complex or whatever, but this is just poor manners.” 

Jinho hated being angry. He hated the heat that pooled in his cheeks, how his hands trembled, but he mostly hated how he could never stay angry for long. Within seconds he had felt tears start to well up in the corner of his eyes, warm and teasing to fall. Alcohol had never been kind to him, but Hongseok had always been worse. 

“Hey, Hongseok, Knock it off.” Kino scowled, having caught his pestering from across the circle. Hongseok rolled his eyes. 

“Highschool is over, Hyunggu. You don’t need to babysit him anymore. He can take a  _ joke. _ ”

Maybe it was the fright of knowing everyone’s eyes were on him, or maybe it was the alcohol making itself more known, maybe both, but Jinho felt frozen in place. He wanted so badly to run out of the gym, to run straight back to his studio and not see any of these arrogant assholes again, but his feet didn’t connect with his heart. 

“It-it’s not-“Jinho’s voice came out as a whisper, a mere fraction of what he wanted it to be. 

Wooseok grabbed Hongseok by the arm and tried to pull him away from a clearly upset Jinho, but Hongseok shook his grip off. 

“Hyung, are you...are you crying?” Hongseok leaned closer to Jinho’s face with a devious smirk. “Maybe much hasn’t changed since highschool.” 

Jinho closed his eyes in one last panicked attempt to stop the tears from falling. He felt a quick, warm, drop roll down his cheek. But then he heard the sound of flesh hitting flesh, the group gasp, and a loud collapse on the hardwood. He opened his eyes; Hongseok was laid out on the floor, the Tentastic baseball team crowded around in pure shock. 

Taking notice of the crowd, Jinho accounted for Wooseok, Yanan, Changgu, Kino, Shinwon, and Hui. It wasn’t until his body finally broke it’s freeze that he had turned around to find Yuto shaking out his hand, red skin buzzing from contact. 

“Yuto…” Jinho’s voice was quiet and full of surprise.

The gym fell silent, people who had been dancing happily to Sk8r Boi just moments ago had all but stopped to take in the action. Shinwon crouched over a disheveled Hongseok, mouth agape that someone had caught the muscular man off guard, managing to let a sentence slip out:

“Is it...is it too early to call party foul on you guys?”   
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for sticking with my story so far! Be sure to drop some kudos or a comment if you’re digging it! See you next chapter, it’ll be cute I promise.


	3. Lose Yourself

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The reunion may be over but the drama sure isn’t~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So remember how I said this will be in four parts? JK! It’s going to be in six parts because I wanted to dive into certain things a bit more! So guess now we’re at the halfway point! Sorry if it’s a lot of build up, but I’ve got some really fun stuff planned for the last three chapters!

Three seconds. 

The team was quiet for a lousy _ three _seconds before they erupted into a chaotic cacophony of accusation and jeers. 

“Yuto! What the fuck was that?” Wooseok was on the ground, holding up a dazed Hongseok. 

“It’s called _ justice _.” Hui crossed his arms, sneering down at the giant Maknae.

“Nah, I’m pretty sure it’s what the kids call _ throwing hands _.” Yanan smirked, giving Kino a sarcastic grin. Kino for one didn’t find Yanan’s retort too funny, jabbing him lightly in the side. 

“You’re really joking at a time like this, Yanan?” Kino said with a disapproving frown. 

“Not cool, man. Not cool.” Changgu shook his head, wrapping his arm around Kino’s shoulder and gently pulling him closer. Kino, sensitive as ever, gently leaned into the embrace. Yanan was absolutely seething. 

“Do we really have to solve _ everything _with violence in this group?” Wooseok frowned. 

“I can’t believe you’re defending him!” Hui threw his arms up in anger, “But then again, you always have!”

“I’m not defending him, he earned that shit, but like,” Wooseoks eyes flitted around the room nervously, “We’re in public. In our old school.”

“I’m pretty sure I saw the AP Bio teacher cheering.” Shinwon interjected. 

“Doesn’t matter.” Hui scowled, “Take your boy home, Wooseok, he’s a mess. Check yourself while you’re at it too.”

Not a lot could get the child-like, carefree Maknae mad, but Hui seemed to be one of the few people who knew the secret formula to get under his skin. Wooseok rose to his feet, Hongseok finally conscious enough to prop himself up. 

“Excuse _ me _ if I wanted one night where I don’t have to clean up after this teams _ mess!” _Wooseok’s low but loud voice growled. 

“_ You _ cleaning up messes? Don’t make me laugh. We all know that was _ my _ full time job.” Kino scowled. Changgu nodded, pouting slightly as he stroked Kino’s shoulder with his free hand.

“Oh, cry me a river, Hyunggu! You loved the attention!” Wooseok scoffed.

“Funny, I could say the same about you!” Hui stepped closer to Wooseok, glaring up at the taller man. 

Shinwon made a futile attempt to step in between the two, spreading his arms out in a sweeping motion, “No, people. Let’s be smart and call it off.” 

The sound of the team fighting had overtaken the room, the rest of the student body slowly backing away, but yet unable to tear their eyes away from the shit show. The assistant principal was the only one brave enough to approach the riotous idiots.

“Hey, settle down or take it outside!” The older, balding man shouted. The team instantly dropped their attitude, standing at full attention like they were back to being scared teens being scolded by their parents. 

“He started it.” Shinwon pointed down at Hongseok, who was now regaining full consciousness, grumbling as he ruffled his hair in his palm. 

“God, you boys never changed, huh? You all were in my office so much I thought you mistook it for homeroom.” The assistant principal rolled his eyes as he massaged his temple. The team were quick to bow in apology, Kino bowing multiple times, hating anyone being upset with him especially. The assistant principal walked off, the music picked back up, and Shinwon turned to face Jinho with a relieved smile. 

“Just like old times, eh, Jin-” But where he expected to find a short, pouting, man standing, there was no one. His head snapped over towards the exit, the door swinging closed. Shinwon frowned, the long overdue guilt of getting his dear friend into this mess finally settling in his stomach. 

Hui turned back, exchanging a quick, heated glance with Wooseok before storming out of the gym. Wooseok took a few steps after him, shouting after his lifelong frenemy. 

“What did I do?!” 

“The fact you don’t remember says it all.” Hui retorted, throwing his hand in the air to wave goodbye before he slipped out the door. 

The remainder of the team stood in defeated silence for a moment, until a still floor-laiden Hongseok broke it.

“Can someone fuckin’ help me up, already? Shit.” 

____  


Jinho already had his fill of dramatics that night, but he couldn’t help but find a dramatic ballad to be the perfect song to listen to while he waited for his bus home. The night air was crisp and comforting after being stuck in a stuffy gym for most of the evening. He checked his phone: Ten minutes until the next bus. He slipped it back into his pocket, his eyes slowly closing as he let out a long sigh. The sigh soon turned into a gentle hum, filling the empty bus shelter with a pleasant melody. Before he knew it the words were escaping his mouth:

“_ From the moon, to the stars _

_ Ujureul hemaeda, _

_ Seororeul alge doeeotjyo~” _

If Jinho was ever sure of anything, it was that he loved to sing. It was comforting, second-nature in the way it came easy to him. He already felt the stress of the night start to leave his body as he continued to sing along. When the song was over Jinho finally opened his eyes, a slight smile on his lips. 

“Nu’est, right?” A deep, familiar voice asked from beside him.

Jinho turned, a slight blush blooming on his face as he came face to face (well, face to chest) with Yuto. Jinho quietly nodded, turning away to try and hide his embarrassment: he wasn’t aware he was putting on a show for the intimidating maknae. 

“I love them,” Yuto continued, “I always listen to them before school.”

“You’re still in school? Didn’t you graduate?” Jinho replied, still keeping his eyes straight ahead of him. 

“By school I mean where I work. I’m a soccer coach at the local Middle School.” 

“Ah.” Jinho nodded slightly. 

_ Yuto’s a coach now, huh? _Jinho’s mind couldn’t help but imagine the foreboding man having to corral a bunch of hyperactive pre-teens. The thought of Yuto trying to reason with a twelve year old or trying to get the kids to stop flossing every five seconds, was vivid in his mind. If he wasn’t so intimidated by the man standing next to him he would have laughed. 

The calming sound of the breeze now felt deafeningly loud as a silence fell over the two. Their wasn’t just one elephant in the room, but two or three, heck there was more elephant than room at this point. Jinho checked his phone again for the bus schedule, the update telling him his bus was delayed for an undetermined amount of time. _ Sell your car, _ Jinho grumbled internally to himself, _ You won’t need it in the city. Idiot! Idiot! _

“Sorry.” Yuto’s voice broke the silence. His deep voice lilting slightly, sounding rather genuine, something Jinho hadn’t heard in a long time. Jinho looked up at Yuto with curious eyes.

“If it’s about Hongseok, don’t be.” Jinho shook his head.

“No, I meant for...me. For how I acted back in highschool.” 

Jinho’s breath caught in his throat; did Yuto Adachi just _ apologize _ to him?? Without anyone forcing him to???

“My dad always gave me shit when I was growing up, saying how all of my attitude would come back to bite me in the ass as an adult. I’ve only been coaching for six months and I’ve already felt that ten-fold.” Yuto let out a small chuckle, rubbing the back of his neck with his palm. “Kids are so mean.” 

“Adults aren’t much better,” Jinho replied. “Tonight was proof of that.” 

“Don’t let what Hongseok said get to you. Dude’s more insecure than anyone I know.”

“Isn’t that usually the case with bullies?” Jinho side eyes Yuto, Yuto feeling the sting of his poignant jab. 

“Yeah…” 

The silence returned in full force. Yuto slid his hands into his pockets, slowly rocking back and forth on his heels. 

“I know one apology doesn’t make up for all the shit I gave you back then,” Yuto’s voice sounded more hushed than usual, “But I really only came here tonight to say that to you. I hope you know I mean it.”

If Jinho’s tears hadn’t been spent earlier on in the night on that idiot Hongseok he might have been able to shed a few in that moment, but all he could do was keep staring forward. They were words he had wanted to hear for years; imagined what it would be like to be on the receiving end of kindness for once, but they didn’t hit quite like he had imagined. It wasn’t a crashing wave of relief or joy, it felt calm. Understated. The equivalent of someone saying sorry as if they had accidentally bumped into him on the street. Maybe because it had been such a long time, maybe because the person next to him felt more like a stranger than the person who made his highschool years a painful slog. 

“Thanks.” Is all he could muster.

As if on cue, the bus had finally pulled up to the curb. The two entered the bus, sitting on opposite sides despite most of the bus being empty. Jinho popped his earbuds back in and stared out the window. He could see Yuto’s reflection faintly in the window; he looked reserved. A little embarrassed even. He saw Yuto pull out a small notebook from his pocket, writing something down with a slightly furrowed brow. He got so lost in his writing that he only noticed his stop blur by minutes later at the last moment, pressing the stop button in a panic as he darted towards the exit of the bus. The driver let him off, closed the doors, and kept driving. Jinho turned his attention back out the window, but the sight of Yuto’s small notebook laying on his seat caught his eye in the reflection. 

Now a bitter man would have taken the notebook and chucked it straight into the trash, maybe lit it on fire, laughed maniacally as it burned. A better man would have taken it and ran after the owner until they could stop them and hand it off. Jinho wasn’t sure where he stood with Yuto Adachi at this moment, so all he did was take the notebook and go home. 

___

  


**Wonnie ** ** _1:33 am _ **

_ So??? _

_ Have you opened it yet?? _

_ Is it full of super juicy deep dark secrets?!? _

_ Murder plans?? _

_ Fan fiction?? _

**Joji **

_ Not yet. Don’t know if I’m gonna. _

**Wonnie **

_ You’re no fun. _

_ Have I ever told you that? _

_ That you’re no fun? _

**Joji **

_ I haven’t said I won’t yet. It’s still on the tabel. _

_ *tlabel _

_ *TABLE _

_ fuck _

**Wonnie**

_ Are you still tipsy? _

**Joji **

_ The reality of coming back home to nothing but piles of work and a cat sobered me up. _

**Wonnie **

_ Give your scratchy murder monster a pet for me. _

_ So… _

_ Didja open it yet??? _

**Joji **

_ Truffles says she’ll eat the notebook if you keep calling her a monster. _

_ And no. But I’m holding it and it smells kind of like peppermint. _

**Wonnie**

_ Holy shit, he’s Santa!!! _

_ That’s his list! _

**Joji **

_ Ah yes, it says right here: _

_ Ko Shin-won- the worst child. No presents. Ever. _

**Wonnie**

_ Kind of called for after tonight. _

_ I really am sorry, Jinho. I didn’t know things would get so heated. I thought we’d shoot the shit about League of Legends or music or something. _

**Joji**

_ Since when did our team ever “shoot the shit”. _

**Wonnie**

_ Remember that time Wooseok brought a slingshot to school and kept hitting Hyunggu in the back of the head with rolled up toilet paper? _

**Joji **

_ I thought Hui was going to murder him that day _

**Wonnie**

_ Changgu and Yanan too. _

**Joji **

_ It’s fine tho. _

_ About tonight. _

_ I came out with an apology of sorts from Yuto so...I guess that could be considered a win. _

**Wonnie **

_ I’m really glad he did. _

_ I know there’s something good in him. _

_ Just like...deep, DEEP, down in him. _

_ Like maybe somewhere in his kidney. _

**Joji**

_ Maybe I should open it. _

**Wonnie**

_ His kidney? _

_ Gross. _

**Joji**

_ I knew you were gonna say that. _

_ No, the notebook. _

_ Maybe it’ll give me proof if he’s changed. _

**Wonnie**

_ Or maybe it’s a really bitchin’ lasagna recipe _

**Joji **

_ Both are tempting. _

——

“Are you sure you don’t remember? Like really, _ really _sure?” Wooseok whined to a very tired Yuto as he drove the slightly older man to work. I 

“I’d tell you if I knew, Seok.” Yuto took a big swig of coffee, his head resting sleepily against his open hand. 

“I was going over it in my head all night and I’ve ruled out broken bones or stolen property. I’d never steal from anyone, and I definitely would be the one to get myself in an accident, not Hui.” Wooseok sounded like a conspiracy theorist trying to make sense of his own rapid thoughts. When he said he had spent all night going over reasons why Hui hates him so much, he really had meant _ all night. _Yuto wasn’t at his best friends level; he simply wasn’t a morning person. 

“Did you scare him at some point?” Yuto shrugged. 

“Nah, not on purpose at least.” Wooseok shook his head. 

“You break something of his? Like a priceless family heirloom?”

“That sounds like it would be in Shinwon’s wheelhouse, not mine.”

“You steal one of his girlfriends?” 

Yuto and Wooseok eye each other for a moment in complete silence before breaking into laughter. 

“You’re funny in the morning, Yuto-Ah.” 

“Tell that to the kids.” Yuto smirks, lifting his coffee cup back towards his face. 

Wooseok pulls up in front of the Middle School and pats his friend on the shoulder, “If the kids make fun of you, tell them you punched a guy in the face last night for making fun of someone else.” 

Yuto rubbed his face, “Don’t remind me.” 

“Too late,” Wooseok grinned, “Now get out of my car and go teach those kids some basketball!” 

“Soccer, Seok.”

“I know, it’s just fun to upset you.” Wooseok chuckled, pinching his disgruntled friend’s cheek. 

Yuto swatted Wooseok’s hand away and unbuckled his seat belt. He patted his pockets to make sure he had his phone and his keys, but noticed something else was missing. He started shifting in his seat, searching for it. 

“What’s up? You lose something?”

“I-it’s probably in my bag…” Yuto tried to shake off the worry as he opened the car door, not wanting to be late and face the wrath of thirteen twelve year olds.

“What is it? I’ll text you if I find it.” 

“It’s just a small, black notebook. It’s got some work stuff in it.” Yuto climbed out of the car and slammed the door shut.

As Wooseok was ready to drive off, he heard tapping on the window. Rolling it down revealed a stone-faced Yuto staring daggers at his supposed best friend. 

“If you find it do not open it.” Yuto demanded. 

“Alright, Alright. I’m a little offended you think I’d snoop, but I won’t.” 

Yuto nodded and headed towards the school. Wooseok rolled up the windows, and as soon as Yuto was completely out of sight, he scrambled furiously around his car to search for the secretive notebook. 

___

  


“AH! STOP IT SOOBIN! GROSS!” 

A poor little cricket dangled ceremoniously from the treacherous clutches of the aforementioned pre-teen, Soobin, and right in front of the face of a girl who hated nothing more than bugs and idiot boys wielding bugs. 

“Don’t be such a wuss! It just wants to say hi!” Soobin cackled, wiggling it around. The girl let out a terrified screech. 

“Hey! Soobin!” Yuto’s low voice didn’t even have to reach shouting levels to catch the students off guard, “Knock it off!” 

“But-“ Soobin retorted, earning an unamused glare from his coach. Soobin let out a groan as he placed the cricket back on the ground. It hopped away in a hurry, surely cursing in its native cricket tongue. 

“We’ve got a game coming up and we need to focus if we want to win.” Yuto waved a whistle in his hand, “Now let’s warm up! Time for some laps!” He blew the whistle, sending the kids off on their way around the track.

Yuto stood by the side of the track, surveying the students as they ran, mostly surveying Soobin and his close friends to make sure they didn’t start any more shit. After a minute he decided to trust them to keep at it, so he turned to look through his messenger bag for the fifth time this afternoon. 

_ I could have sworn I had it last night. I used it on the bus. _ Yuto thought to himself as he shuffled papers around in his bag. _ Maybe it’s still in my joggers? _

After a minute he gave up, zipping the bag back up with an exhausted sigh. He turned to check back in on the kids, and found his trust was once again misplaced. 

“Mr.Adachi!” The familiar shrill pitch of a student alerting Yuto to one of Soobin’s antics rang off. 

Rolling his eyes, Yuto jogged over towards the students to see what was the matter. 

As Yuto lectured the students on teamwork, he caught someone walking the perimeter of the field in the distance. They looked vaguely familiar, but they didn’t look like they were from the school. They never entered the actual field space, just lingered by the chain link fence surrounding it. It wasn’t until Yuto really focused that he realized who it was. 

“Okay, now that we know the difference between running properly and tripping your classmates, give me another three laps! Let’s go!” Yuto blew his whistle and the kids were back on track, literally and metaphorically. Yuto was back on track as well, making his way towards the familiar face by the fence. 

“Hey.” Yuto called out as he jogged to the fence, “What are you doing here?”

A bashful looking Jo Jinho stood by the fence, his hands stuffed in his overcoat pockets. 

“I, uh, found something of yours.” Jinho replied, struggling to keep eye contact with Yuto. Jinho pulled out the little black notebook from his pocket and Yuto’s heart dropped as soon as he saw it. 

“Your work address was on it so I figured I’d drop it off.” Jinho held out the notebook, Yuto popping around the fence to collect it.

“Holy sh- Thank you _ so _much, Hyung.” Yuto grabbed one end of the notebook, but as he went to pull it from Jinho’s hand he felt a tug of resistance from the shorter man. 

“I want to talk about what you wrote.” Jinho’s words sent a paralyzing shiver down Yuto’s spine. 

_ He read it. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Had to mention my other ult group Nu’est cause it’s my fic and I can do what I want ~ (and y’all should stan Nu’est, they’re a bunch of good good eggs) 
> 
> From here on out we’ll be getting more Yuto/Jinho interaction! And well also get some Yanan/Kino/Changgu interaction next chapter too! Hooray!


	4. Genie: Us

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is a long chapter compared to the others! Got some fun fluff and drama for you ~ enjoy and Stan Pentagon!

Yuto couldn’t believe the situation he was in, neither could Jinho. Most High School reunions ended in awkward goodbyes and ill-kept promises to “get together soon”, but theirs somehow led to the two men quietly sipping overpriced iced tea in a popular cafe after work. Yuto, still in his coaching tracksuit, hit the bottom of his drink first, rattling the ice in his cup to see if he could hit any more liquid before having to speak. No luck. Damn.

“So-“ Yuto broke the silence for the first time in ten minutes, “How much did you read exactly?” 

“Well at first I only opened it to see if I could find a return address-“ Jinho lied, “But then I read the first page…”

Yuto looked relieved, letting out a small sigh. 

“And then I kind of read everything.” Ah, there was the truth. 

Yuto’s face turned bright red which he tried to hide by covering his face with his palm. 

“Ah fuck, this is so embarrassing.” Yuto groaned under his breath. 

“I loved it.” Jinho interjected, shocking Yuto upright in his seat. 

“Wha?”

“They’re poems, right?” 

“Well, sort of.” Yuto shifted uncomfortably in his seat, “I like writing rap verses in my free time.” 

“I never knew you were interested in music! You really have some solid stuff here!” 

Yuto tried as hard as he could to hide the blush spreading over every inch of his face, but was failing miserably. Jinho never thought he would have seen Yuto so bashful, let alone because of him, but the mere sight brought a wide smile to his face. 

“If that’s everything, I’ll be going.” Yuto turned to get out of his seat but was abruptly stopped by Jinho’s soft hand on top of his. 

“I wanted to ask you something! Please!” Yuto couldn’t refuse the sweet look on his hyung’s face, he at least owed it to Jinho to hear him out after he returned the notebook. 

“Would you want to help me with my demo? I’ve been struggling with this song and I think your insight would help me finally finish it!” 

Yuto turned back towards Jinho, letting his hyungs hand linger on his just a bit longer. 

“I’m sure there’s much more qualified people at your school who could-“

“I don’t want  _ qualified,  _ I want something different. Please, Yuto-ah?”

If Yuto weren’t already beet red from earlier, he surely was now. The sound of Jinho regarding him in such a sweet way made his blood run hot. He was putty in the shorter man's hands. 

“Alright,” Yuto slowly retracted his hand from under Jinho’s, “I’ll help, Hyung.” 

Jinho grinned eagerly, clapping his hands together. 

“Thank you so much! You’re a lifesaver!”

Yuto smiled back; maybe the embarrassment was worth it after all. 

___

  
  
  


“Ya-Yan-Yanan!” Kino whined between stifled breaths. 

The pink haired gentleman was hungrily nipping the younger’s neck, leaving small rosey marks on his pale skin. Kino had his palms flush against Yanan’s chest, pushing back a little but not too much. He loved to play hard to get but sometimes it was a little too much for those who craved his affections. 

“What’s-whats gotten into you?” Kino chuckles, briefly kissing Yanan’s cheek. 

Yanan pulled back for a moment, his eyelids heavy with want, a slight smirk on his lips. 

“Don’t tell me you weren’t thinking of this all night, Hyunggu-ah.” 

“Well, maybe,” Kino grinned bashfully, “I’ve been kind of thinking about it for years.” 

“I’ll see to it that I don’t disappoint your teenage fantasy then.” Yanan smirked, pressing his lips to Kino’s hungrily. His tongue traced the bottom of Kino’s pouty pink lips, prying them open in a heated, desperate mess. A small whine escaped Kino; Yanan lived for that sound.

Kino could feel Yanan’s hands travel from his waist to his stomach, his delicate hands feeling far rougher as he clawed at his chest from under his shirt. The blue haired boy let out a slight whimper as Yanan’s nails made purchase in his skin. 

“Yannie, be careful. You’re gonna leave marks.” Kink hissed under his breath. 

“What’s so bad about that?” Yanan asked between quick kisses to Kino’s collarbone. 

“I have to teach a room full of kindergarteners tomorrow. I don’t want to look like a bear mauled me.”

Yanan chuckled, softening his grip on his cautious lover. 

“You sure you just don’t want Changgu to find out?”

Kino pulled back once again from Yanan, a look of pure bewilderment on his face. 

“Why are you bringing Changgu into this? This has  _ nothing  _ to do with him!”

“It was a  _ joke _ , Hyunggu. Sometimes I think you forget what those are.” 

Fully removing himself from Yanan’s grasp, Kino turned and crossed his arms in a huff. He was so good at pouting that no one knew if he learned it from his kindergartners or if they learned it from him. 

“I think  _ you  _ forgot that jokes are supposed to be  _ funny _ , hyung.” 

“Why are you so protective of him anyways? You’re here with me, Hyunggu, not him.”

Yanan had his hands on his hips, clearly upset and impatient with the younger man. Kino kept his body turned away from Yanan as he replied. 

“I’m not protective over him. He’s just a good guy. I don’t want to let him down like this.” 

“But you are going to tell him about us, right?” 

Kino’s once angry face softened, a sadness apparent in his eyes as he spoke. 

“It’s-it’s not that easy-“ Kino’s voice trailed off into a whimper. 

Yanan’s brow was wrinkled in frustration, his body stiff and tense. 

“Are you fuckin’ kidding me, Hyunggu? Are we really gonna keep doing this highschool bullshit?”

“I-I-“ Kino’s gaze fell to the floor, avoiding Yanan’s like the plague. 

“Do you want to be with me?” Yanan placed his hand on Kino’s shoulder, turning him around to face him. Kino kept his eyes glued to the floor. 

“I do.” Kino replied softly. 

“But?”

Kino placed a hand on the back of Yanan’s neck, moving his head down towards himself for a kiss. Yanan’s body followed, but it remained stiff, as if he was locking lips with a cardboard cutout. 

“I need more time.” Kino whispered between kisses. 

Yanan grabbed Kino gently by the shoulders, removing the younger man from him. Yanan’s generally confident and passionate attitude was replaced by something foreign and cold; it made Kino want to crawl into a hole and never come back out. 

“I’ve given you nine years,” Yanan’s gaze wandered from Kino, “You’re really greedy, Kang Hyunggu.”

Yanan saw himself out of Kino’s apartment. He couldn’t even bring himself to turn back and look at the man who had been kissing him just seconds earlier. 

As cool as Yanan liked to play it, his number one weakness was the blue haired boy with the bright smile, but he found himself being hurt by him time and time again. Kino was never the type to hurt directly with precision, but rather through his avoidance and misdirection. Yanan knew that Kino cared for him, in some sort of capacity, but as time went on the need for clarification grew. He needed to know what he was to Kino. 

But Kino didn’t. Rather he couldn’t. His two loyal suitors had become such an ingrained part of his life that choosing one felt like cutting off a limb in spite of the other. Not to mention he had yet to be fully physical with either, not even having had kissed Changgu yet. The decision seemed like something harder than picking whoever he kissed first. Was Yanan really entitled to him because he did? Kino didn’t think so, but yet, maybe it was something to consider. Who knows? 

Definitely not Hyunggu. 

___

“ _ Here.” _

The text read. Jinho’s heart skipped what felt like twenty beats before he fully registered the message. He was stationed in front of the mirror hanging off of the back of the door in his studio at school, preening and primping himself for what he thought was only two minutes (but was actually 26). He wanted to look good for Yuto and his studio session, but not  _ too _ good. He didn’t want to look like he had been trying to hard or scrolling through fashion blogs to get inspiration for the “ _ perfect relaxed lounge look that’ll catch his eye”.  _ (Spoiler alert: he most definitely had.)

Jinho pocketed his phone, gave one more semi-confident stroke through his hair, and made his way towards the first level of the music building where he’d be letting his new muse in. He took the elevator down, his heart beat increasing as the floor levels decreased. 

_ How the hell is this real life? Yuto Adachi is helping me? Fifteen year old me would have flipped out if he knew! _

The elevator finally reached the main floor, doors opening to reveal a bright and open lobby with large windows. Plants lined the entrance by a long rug, and standing atop that perfectly designed rug was Yuto. Jinho would have been pissed off at the younger man for being able to look so effortlessly put-together if he wasn’t so in awe of him. Yuto was wearing an oversized black t-shirt with wide leg pants and sandals. His hair was up in a choppy looking ponytail; a chain necklace closely lining his neck. Jinho looked down at his large flannel shirt and t-shirt and instantly felt like a kid wearing their dads clothes in comparison. 

_ Maybe next time I’ll spring for some chains or something… _ Jinho thought. 

“Yuto!” Jinho raised his hand as he approached the taller man. Yuto turned, looking caught off guard as he was taking in the impressive scope of the building, but his shock turned into a surprisingly warm smile. 

“Hyung, good to see you.” 

“Good to see you too, Yuto-Ah.” Jinho smiled rather bashfully back at him. “Follow me, my studio is on the ninth floor.” 

Jinho led the way back to the elevator, getting back in the one he had just walked out of moments ago. He pressed the button for nine and leaned back against the wall, trying too hard not to gawk at Yuto’s perfection. Jinho really loved a guy in a ponytail, something about it was just... _ good.  _

“Your school is pretty amazing,” Yuto broke the silence, “This campus is way cooler than mine ever was. Everything’s so...impressive.” 

“It better be for how hard it is to get in,” Jinho chuckled, “I had to get a recommendation from damn near every person I’ve ever met for them to even consider me.” 

“I’m sure they wrote about how humble you are, hyung.” A coy smile spread across Yuto’s face. Jinho blushed immediately in response, flailing his hands in defense. 

“I didn’t mean it like that! I was just saying it’s hard-“

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding.” The Maknae laughed, “Everyone knows you’ve worked hard for this. You worked hardest out of all of us.” 

The elevator let out a loud  _ ding!  _ as it made it to the ninth floor. The doors slid open, Jinho silently gesturing Yuto to follow him as he exited. They walked down a quiet, white and teal colored hallway, finally stopping at Jinho’s studio door near the end of the hall. Jinho felt even more nervous, somehow, letting Yuto into his studio. The dedicated man had spent much more time there than he did at his apartment, so it felt like a mirror straight into Jinho’s mind. He was hoping Yuto would like what he saw. 

He opened the door to reveal a chaotic, but somehow organized studio. On the farthest wall was his desk with his pc, keyboards, and sound mixing panels. A state of the art microphone was set up in the corner by some sound proof tiling where Jinho recorded his vocals. There was a small couch with Jinho’s jacket thrown across it and various notebooks and albums. Jinho made sure to throw out the copious amounts of soda bottles and takeout boxes before Yuto arrived, trying to convince the younger man (and himself as well) that he didn’t  _ totally  _ live there. 

“Wuh!” Yuto exclaimed dumbfounded, “This is so cool, hyung!” 

“Thanks, though I’m not sure  _ cool  _ is the right word…”

“No, it’s super cool! It’s so professional!” Yuto tapped the microphone in the corner, a high pitch emitting through the studio speakers, making him cringe in shock. A tiny yelp had escaped the intimidating man’s lips. Jinho couldn’t help but to let out a laugh, Yuto cautiously backing away from anything resembling expensive equipment. 

“You can take a seat on the couch, if you’d like. I want to play what I have so far for you.” Jinho gestured towards his small but cozy looking couch. Carefully placing Jinho’s jacket over the back, Yuto took a seat. Jinho sat down in front of his computer, opening a folder labeled “ _ Jinho_Demo_001”.  _ His heart caught back in his throat as his cursor hovered over the first track. 

“Now, this is all pretty rough. I still need to level some things out and maybe add another backing vocal track but hopefully you’ll get an idea of what I’m going for.” His hand was frozen on top of his mouse. 

“Alright, let’s hear it.” Yuto nodded curtly. 

“...My voice also kinda does a weird thing at the start but it’s purposeful cause I bring it back so, just in case you were wondering.” 

“No worries, hyung, I’m ready to hear it.” 

Silence fills the room instead of the song. Yuto gave him the benefit of the doubt that the song had a quiet intro, but in reality Jinho’s cursor was still precariously pixels away from the play button. 

“Do you like Charlie Puth? Cause I took a lot of inspiration from him and maybe I should play his songs first to-“ 

“Jinho,” Yuto’s deep voice cut through Jinho’s rambling, “Just play the song.” 

“R-right.” Jinho’s cursor finally hit play and the song began. 

The song was only two minutes at this point in production, but it felt like two hours to Jinho. He couldn’t even bring himself to turn his computer chair around to face Yuto and see his reaction in real time. The smooth, crooning vocals he was so proud of just days ago started to sound flawed and unfinished. What if Yuto hated it? What if he questioned why Jinho was even pursuing music? What if it was all like back in senior year-

___

“Shut up, everyone! Hui is trying to speak!” An eager Shinwon darts up from his seat and shouts at his rowdy teammates. 

“Doesn’t mean we wanna listen.” Yanan smirks, kicking his feet up on the table, Changgu immediately throwing them off in disgust. 

“Your shoes are all muddy, keep them off the table, pig!” He sneered. 

Yanan rolled his eyes and promptly put his feet on Changgu’s lap, riling up the cleanly blonde even more. 

“Guys, cut it out.” Kino grumbled, taking it upon himself to remove Yanan’s legs from Changgu. 

“I can’t believe it, another season over. “ Hui began his dramatic speech at the head of the table, holding his Diet Coke in one hand as if it were a glass of aged whiskey, “For a lot of us, it’s our last together. I for one will miss-“ 

“YANAN CUT IT OUT!” Changgu darted up from his chair, the rest of the team whipped their heads to the young Chinese boy who had his feet suspiciously up in the air where Changgu was just sitting. Kino got up and placed his chair between the two, acting as a wall between them. He made sure to shoot both boys dirty glares. 

“As I was  _ saying,  _ I for one will miss all of you.”

“Except for Wooseok.” Hongseok sneered. 

“Except Wooseok.” Hui nodded with a matter of fact smile. Wooseok didn’t even notice the jabs at his expense since he was reading the latest volume of One Piece with Yuto, the two awkwardly trying to read at the same pace but ultimately failing. (“ _ I can’t believe Luffy just decked that dude!” “What? Slow down! No spoilers!”) _

“With this being the last time we’ll ever have a post-game meal together, maybe seeing each other for quite a while, I want us all to go around and share our hopes for each other for the future!” The entire team groaned at Hui’s cheesy proposition. 

“I’ll go first! As you all know, Jinho and I are going to school for music production. So to you, Jo Jinho, I wish nothing but fruitful studies and to write songs that inspire generations to come!” Hui lifts his glass with a genuine smile. Jinho lifts up his water glass and nods back at his endearing leader. 

“I’ll go next!” Shinwon raised his hand, though no one had asked him to, “I want to roast Hyunggu!”

“We’re not roasting, Shinwon, we’re…”

“Hyunggu! You’re one of the most talented, caring, and giving people I know!” Kino pouted, placing his hand over his heart in reverence of his friend’s sweet words. 

“I wish for you to become the best teacher the world has ever seen! And to finally pick a freakin’ boyfriend!” 

Kino’s smile instantly dropped, being replaced by a scowl Yuto would have envied. Yanan and Changgu eyed each other over the embarrassed Maknae; they hated to admit it, but they both agreed with Shinwon. 

“Thanks for... _ that,  _ Wonnie.” Hui tried to break the tension in the room, seemingly his main role as team leader the past few years. “Hongseok, you’re up!”

“I want to propose a toast to you, Shinwon! Cause that fuckin ruled.” Hongseok raised his glass, Shinwon meeting his with a loud  _ clink! _ “I wish many more years of you knocking Hyunggu down a peg.” 

Kino was in full on pout mode, both Yanan and Changgu scrambling to cheer him up first. Hongseok took a long swig from his drink and then swung his arm to tap Wooseok on the chest, finally alerting him to the real world outside of the manga. “Seokie, go. Say something sappy.”

Wooseok placed the manga down on the table and scratched his chin as he thought of what to say. 

“Hm, uh, well uh, Yanan thanks for letting me borrow some underwear today.”

Yanan’s head turned to Wooseok in utter confusion, “What? I didn’t lend you any!”

“Oh, yeah, I just kinda grabbed them out of your gym bag. I figured it would be fine cause they were labeled for Wednesday but it’s already Friday.”

“Why did you need to borrow  _ underwear? _ ”

“I had a pair but they aren’t red and I need to wear red every game or else we won’t win.”

“We’ve never won.” Hongseok interjected. 

“Well yeah, cause I keep forgetting to wear red underwear.” Wooseok shrugs. 

Hui shook his head in disbelief. This wasn’t the k-drama levels of endearment and charm he had envisioned, but what did he honestly expect from his team. 

“Yuto, please go.” Hui pointed towards the Japanese boy. Yuto, looking perpetually disinterested, shook his head. 

“I’m good.” Yuto claimed. 

“That’s not how this works, Yuto-Ah. We all have to do it.” 

Yuto let out a sigh, “This is a waste of time.” 

“Trying to end the team on a good note is not a waste of time, Adachi!” Hui snapped. 

“Why are we supposed to pretend we like each other? I only came on this team to play ball and we could barely manage that.” 

“What Yuto means is  _ I love you all _ .” Wooseok pats Yuto’s shoulder. 

“Adachi! Just say something nice or get out!” Hui stamped his foot down, having had enough of Yuto’s attitude for one lifetime. 

“Fine.” Yuto scoffed, looking around the table to see who he would pick. Jinho tried with all of his might to dodge his heated gaze, but it was of no use as the taller boy instantly locked eyes with him. 

“Jinho-hyung,” his voice lacked any semblance of warmth, “I’m glad you’re heading towards a career in the arts and not sports. You were probably the worst baseball player I’ve ever seen.”

“Jesus Christ, Yuto-“ Hui buried his face in his open hand. 

“Some of us aren’t as fortunate to have daddy and mommy lining their pockets to go to a cushy arts school to write songs all day.” Yuto sneered.

“I-I…” Jinho couldn’t find the words. Why did Yuto have so much disdain for him? What did Jinho ever do to him to make him act so nasty?

“My turn!” Kino called out, attempting to end Yuto’s jabs. 

“I wasn’t finished, Hyunggu.” Yuto got up from his seat, “But I’m not surprised. It’s always about  _ you guys _ , Hyunggu. So you can all have your circle jerk about your bright futures. I’m out.” Yuto made his swift exit from the restaurant. Did I mention they were in a restaurant? A very public one with people just tables away? 

Wooseok got out of his seat, “He doesn’t really mean any of that,” he nervously addressed the team, “He’s just got some...stuff going on...I gotta go.” He picked up his book and booked it after his upset best friend. 

Hui came around the table to where Jinho was seated, wrapping his arm around his shoulder in a loose hug. 

“Don’t listen to that dick,” Hui sighed, “it’s my fault for thinking any of this would work.” 

Jin-ho faked a smile to reassure his dongsaengs, something he was very used to doing, “You did good, Hui. You did your best.”

___

Just as Jinho’s walk down memory lane ended, so did his demo song. Maybe it had even ended earlier, who knows. Jinho’s mind often wandered far longer than he intended it to. But now he was back to the present, and back to present day Yuto hearing his music for the first time. He swiveled in his chair, finally gathering up the courage to look his most feared critic in the eyes. Yuto’s face was as stoic and hard to read as ever. Great. 

“So?” Jinho managed to squeak out. 

“Hyung,” Yuto put his hands over his mouth. Jinho was ready for the swift ax of rejection. 

“You really are a genius.” Yuto’s eyes met with Jinho’s, a spark of interest now very apparent. 

He finally felt like he could breathe, definitely for the first time that afternoon, but maybe also in years. 

“The song has such an infectious groove to it, it’s already stuck in my head and I’ve only heard it once! And the bridge? It’s so dynamic and keeps me curious, but when that chorus hits! It’s a complete banger!” Yuto’s excitedly talking with his hands. Jinho had never seen the younger man that excited about...well, anything. 

“Oh, wow! Thank you so much!” Jinho could barely contain the relief pooling through his body. “I was so nervous!”

“Nervous? If I wrote something like that I’d be sharing it with everyone I know!” 

“Well, you’re kind of the first person to hear it.” Jinho bashfully looked away. 

Yuto gasped in disbelief, “Hyung! I’m so honored!”

Jinho chuckled, “I can't believe you, Yuto Adachi.” 

“Wha? Why not.” 

“Back in highschool you always gave me shit for wanting to be a songwriter. But now you’re here, in my studio, helping me.”

The smile faded from Yuto’s face, replaced by guilt. 

“Hyung, I’m still really sorry about how I acted back then. I-“

“You had some lines in your notebook that caught my eye. Do you mind if I record you rapping them?” Jinho was eager to switch topics, not wanting to get stuck back in his memories again. 

Yuto was caught off guard, “I, Well, sure. I mean, if it’ll help.” 

Jinho smiled, “It will.” 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only two more chapters to go! I’m gonna try and make them as fun and entertaining as I can! My next story I wanna do something a little bit sexier maybe....just a thought.


	5. Can You Feel It?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys like fluff, cause I sure do~

It had been a month since Yuto and Jinho started working on the demo together and they were finally starting to see the end of the road for the project. Yuto couldn’t believe how quickly the time seemed to pass; planned hour long sessions turned into four or five hours. One meeting a week turned into two, then three, than pretty much any time the two weren’t contractually obligated to be somewhere else. Looking back on the past month put a smile on the Japanese man’s usually stern face, which his friends loved to see, except for Hongseok who couldn’t handle the new lovesick Yuto Adachi. 

“Jinho suggested we put some reverb on my last verse and it worked so perfectly! It really made everything fit together! He’s so good at knowing exactly what a song needs. He’s just so  _ intuitive _ . So sharp. So-“

“So making me want to vomit with how much you talk about him.” Hongseok interrupted, sipping his latte to accentuate just how much he didn’t care. 

The two men were posted up at a small family restaurant near Hongseok’s work. They often met for lunch in between work shifts to catch up and eat a copious amount of fried chicken. 

“You don’t have to be such a dick about the whole thing, Honk. I know you don’t really like him for some reason, but-“

“What? When did I ever say I don’t like Jinho? I have no problem with him.”

Yuto cocked his eyebrow, “What was that last month at the reunion then?”

“I already apologized to him for that, plus, you decided to go all Street Fighter on my ass. Some would look at that and say  _ you  _ don’t care much for _ me _ .” 

“You’ve totally punched me before, hyung.”

Hongseok smiled wistfully, “Yes. Yes I did.”

To say the two had an odd relationship was an understatement, but they recognized that giving each other a hard time was their own strange form of endearment. At the end of the day they would always be back together laughing about how stupid they had been. 

“See, what I  _ do  _ have a problem with is you talking non-stop about Jinho but not  _ doing  _ anything about it.” 

“What? We’re working on his demo together, what else is there to do?” 

Hongseok groaned, sinking into his seat in a dramatic fashion. 

“Come  _ on _ kid! Ask the dude out already!” 

Yuto’s face froze in shock, he clearly thought he was being coy about his feelings this whole time, but maybe his poker face had let up in recent weeks. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, hyung. You’re being ridiculous.” Yuto quickly shoved some chicken in his mouth in an effort to look cool and collected, but instead ended up coughing out a piece from swallowing too fast. Hongseok handed the younger man a napkin, a look of slight disgust on his face. 

“It’s not like this is news to me that you like him-like him. I paid more attention in highschool than you may have thought.”

Yuto dabbed the corners of his mouth with the provided napkin; it got the grease out, but it couldn’t wipe away his naïveté. 

“Don’t think I’ve forgotten about the talent show, Yuto.” Hongseok smirked. 

___

A nervous, fidgeting, fifteen year old Yuto Adachi stood in front of a large sign-up sheet plastered on Violet Academy’s communal bulletin board:

** _Violet Academy’s_ **

** _34th annual school-wide_ **

** _TALENT SHOW _ **

** _-_ ** _ Sign up here!- _

***LAST DAY TO SIGN UP!!***

He clicked the pen in his hand, readying himself to sign. 

_ Just gotta sign before anyone finds out. Just gotta sign before anyone finds out. Just gotta- _

“‘Ey! Adachi!” A spritely Ko Shinwon flagged him down. Yuto immediately pocketed his pen and turned away from the board in a panic. 

“Whatcha doing? Putting up wanted ads for new teammates?” Shinwon chuckled. 

“I was just, uh, checking out this flyer. Seemed...cool.” Yuto gestured towards a random piece of paper tacked to the board without even looking back to see what he was pointing at. Shinwon leaned in to take stock of the flyer. 

“The 96th Annual Arthritis Prevention Jump-rope-a-thon?” Shinwon read aloud. 

“I have a passion for arthritis prevention...and jump roping.” Yuto clunkily lied. 

“You really are full of surprises, Adachi.” Shinwon pat him on the shoulder, “We may tap into your soft side yet!” 

The bell rang, signaling class was about to begin. Shinwon motioned Yuto to follow him as he headed towards their classroom. 

“Come on, you can sign up for jump rope prevention later. Chemistry awaits.” 

Yuto followed his cheerful pal, looking back at the talent show sign up sheet with regret: It was truly now or never. 

“Go ahead, I need to use the bathroom first.” Yuto stepped back, Shinwon shrugging and heading off to class. Yuto quickly took out the pen from his pocket and scrawled his name on the talent show sign up sheet. He looked around to make sure no one saw, then made his way to class. 

When Yuto wasn’t brushing up on his Korean or being the only baseball player on the team worth any athletic merit, he was busy preparing for the talent show. Yuto had only been in the country for a little over a year and the only name he seemed to have made for himself was being the intimidating, angry-looking freshman with a mean pitching arm. He was hoping the talent show would be an opportunity to show another side of him: a more approachable, entertaining side. Most people would have never guessed it just from looking at him, but the young boy was a gigantic fan of k-pop and an even bigger fan of Korean rappers, so for his talent show performance he was going to rap fully in Korean. 

But school wide acclaim and acceptance wasn’t the only thing he was searching for, in fact, that sort of took a back seat to just impressing  _ one  _ specific person: Jo Jinho. Yes, the shorter boy was absolutely atrocious when it came to baseball, Yuto questioning on a daily basis why he even joined the team in the first place, but Yuto found himself attracted to him from day one. Jinho wasn’t the usual rowdy, jackass type Yuto was used to hanging out with (he loved them dearly, but Changgu and Shinwon’s jokes quickly wore their welcome). Jinho was kind, calm, mature...and really,  _ really  _ cute. Like a video compilation of unlikely animal friends kind of cute. Yuto knew Jinho also loved music, aspiring to become a singer himself, so this was the perfect jumping off point for Yuto to make a case for himself to his hyung. 

The day before the talent show, Yuto was practicing his lines to himself in his now empty home room. He finally wrapped his mind around the last line giving him trouble, grinning as he nailed the delivery he had been so frustrated with for weeks. He tucked his lyrics notebook back into his blazer pocket, grabbed his bag off of the floor, and made his way towards the door to head home when he heard familiar voices outside. 

“Are you going to the show tomorrow, Jinho?” Hui’s voice crept through the crack in the door. Yuto sidled against the wall, hoping to hear his crushes reply. 

“Hmm, maybe. I don’t know.” Jinho’s voice sounded rather disinterested to Yuto’s chagrin. 

“You were like the only good act last year. You should have done it again!”

“I guess, but it feels kinda... _ amateur. _ It’s beneath me at this point.”

The word shot through Yuto’s heart, a frown forming on the young boy’s face. 

“Oh shit, look at this! Look who signed up!” Hui gasped in excitement. 

“Oh my...Adachi? The new kid?”

Yuto’s heart sank even further. 

“That’s gonna be hilarious! I didn’t know he could do anything but scowl.” Jinho chuckled. Yuto sank to his knees. Everything else sounded like white noise. He didn’t think it was possible to feel more out of place than he did, but somehow he had achieved that. 

The next night at the talent show when Yuto’s name was called, no one showed. The MC looked around in confusion but ultimately decided to usher in the next act instead to keep things going. After that, Yuto had no motivation to open himself up to any of his classmates beside Wooseok and Hongseok; At least they had given him a chance to start.

___

“How did you know about that?” Yuto questioned Hongseok, his brow furrowed slightly. 

“Word travels fast when you hang out with the same people every day for four years.” Hongseok shrugged, not quite understanding the weight the situation held for his friend. 

“But how did,” Yuto leaned in closer towards Hongseok and lowered his voice, “How did you know I was doing it for him?”

“I’m not an idiot, Adachi. I can read context clues. You spent more time looking at Jinho than whoever you were pitching for.” 

“I did cause a few black eyes…”

“Hyunggu prepped a lot of condolence flowers that year.” Hongseok laughed. Yuto could only manage a small chuckle, as his memories of that horrible day came back to him. It was the first time in over a month that he had felt that pang of sadness well up in his chest. 

___

“Dawnie! If it’s not fresh, it’s not the best!” 

“One more time! More enthusiasm, Yeo One!”

“Dawnie! If it’s not fresh, it’s not  _ the  _ best!”

“Hmm, something not right here,” a stocky man from behind the camera scratched his chin. Changgu was on set for the latest enthralling commercial for Dawnie laundry detergent. The director came up to Changgu and untucked his shirt and returned to his chair. 

“Again!”

“Dawnie! If it’s not fresh, it’s not the best!”

“Cut! Perfect! Absolutely brilliant stuff, Yeo One!”

Changgu pumped his fist in victory; it was just another day of excellence for the blonde wonder... that is until he saw a pink haired man on his way out of the studio. Yanan was standing outside, dressed in a long black coat and black skinny jeans. For someone dressed in all black he really stood out. 

“Changgu, we gotta talk.” Yanan called out after him. Changgu kept walking, trying to act as if he didn’t hear. Yanan trailed close behind. 

“I know you can hear me, dumb dumb.” 

Changgu put his phone to his ear, “Oh! Hey! What’s up Wooseok?” 

Yanan snuck up behind him and grabbed the phone out of Changgu’s hand, “It didn’t even ring.”

Changgu turned around and took back his phone, practically growling back at Yanan, “Ever heard of  _ silent mode _ , you ding dong?” 

Yanan’s deadpan eyebrow raise ended any chance of Changgu thinking he had put on a convincing performance. 

“Fine, what? What’s so urgent you waited for me outside of my workplace dressed like some weird, sexy secret agent?”

“It’s not weird, it’s Coach, and I’ll take that as a compliment.” 

Changgu rolled his eyes: a common play between the two. 

“It’s about Hyunggu.” 

“Big shocker. You here to tell me to back off?” Changgu scoffed. 

“Actually, no.”

Changgu was legitimately perplexed. 

“I’m here because I’m sick of being stuck in the past. Specifically Hyunggu’s past.” 

“What?”

“We’ve both been after him since Freshman year of Highschool and look at us! We’re still fighting over him and we’re in our twenties!” Yanan’s arms wildly gestured towards Changgu.

“Well, I guess he’s worth the fight.” Changgu looked suspiciously reserved. 

“Or are we just so used to it we don’t know what else to do?”

Changgu fell silent. 

“Are you happy with the way things are now? Cause I’m not.” Yanan’s voice lilted. The always cool, collected man’s facade was finally cracking. 

Changgu looked around, trying hard to fight the urge to run off again. He knew one day a decision would have to be made, either by him or by Kino, but he was afraid of whose favor it would be in. His eyes finally connected with Yanan’s, sensing the sincerity in his rival’s frustration. Changgu sighed. He felt that painful tightening in his chest just the same.

“I’m-I’m not happy either.” Changgu admitted. “So what do we do?”

Yanan held out his hand, “Let’s fall out of love with Kang Hyunggu.”

___

It was Yuto and Jinho’s last scheduled studio session together. They had been hard at work for hours refining and editing the last track on the demo, feeling proud of what they had accomplished in the span of a month. But Jinho couldn’t help but sense a sadness in the air, not suffocating, but enough to acknowledge it. 

“And with this pass,” Jinho clicked to save their file, “Our demo is finished.” 

The two men exhaled a large sigh of relief together, high fiving for a job well done. 

“I think you meant your demo, hyung.” Yuto replied with a slight smile, his eyes fixed elsewhere. 

“No, Yuto, you worked just as hard as I did! I wouldn’t have finished if it weren’t for you.” Jinho gave him a reassuring smile, placing his hand on top of Yuto’s. He had grown so comfortable with the once foreboding man in such a short period of time, he found himself in a constant state of disbelief. 

“Thank you, hyung.” The words left Yuto like a whisper. 

“I’m going to miss having you work with me every day.” Jinho squeezed his hand gently. Yuto squeezed back. 

“Me too.”

“You can still come and visit me here, if you want. I’m sure other projects will fall into my lap soon enough.” Jinho smiled softly.

“Yeah,” Yuto averted his gaze from Jinho’s, “But you don’t need me for those.”

“Are you kidding? I’ve finally found my secret weapon! I can’t let you go like that.” Jinho squeezed Yuto’s hand again, this time letting the pressure remain firm. Yuto could feel heat pooling in his cheeks. 

“H-hyung,” Yuto’s voice quivered.

“What’s wrong, Yuto-ah?” Jinho turned his body to face Yuto, placing his hands on top of Yuto’s thigh. Jinho could feel his leg shake as Yuto nervously tapped it against the floor.

“Why are you so nice to me?”

“What?”

“I made your life so much harder back in High School and yet you let me back into your life like this? I’m not even that good at rapping! Why would you need me around?”

Tears welled in the corners of Yuto’s eyes, the same eyes that were restraining themselves from even glancing over in Jinho’s direction. 

“Yuto, where is this all coming from?” Jinho cocked his head, trying to fall in to Yuto’s line of vision, but ultimately failing. 

“You were always better than me, hyung. Always.”

Jinho found himself growing upset. He gripped on to Yuto’s thighs, swiveling him around in his computer chair to face him, but even then Yuto had shut his eyes to avoid looking at Jinho’s. 

“Adachi! Look at me!” Jinho raised his voice. 

Yuto kept his eyes pressed shut. 

“Adachi! I’ll never forgive you if you don’t talk to me.”

Yuto’s brow quivered before he finally gave in and slowly opened his eyes, the dark brown irises making contact with Jinho’s. 

“You laughed at me.” Yuto choked out from under his breath.

“What?”

“You told Hui I was a joke. That me performing was a joke.”

Jinho slumped back into his seat, his jaw agape at the long forgotten memory being brought back to the surface.

“I didn’t realize…” Jinho trailed off.

“I know it’s stupid, but it really stuck with me. I thought you hated me. So I tried really hard to hate you back.”

“I never hated you, Yuto! I was just…”

“Intimidated?” Yuto wiped a tear away from his own cheek.

Jinho nodded. 

“You know,” Jinho nervously played with the hem of his button up shirt, “I went to go see you perform at the talent show.” 

Yuto’s eyes widened in surprise, “What?”

“Yeah, I was really bummed when you didn’t show up.”

“But why did you go? I thought you didn’t like those kinds of things?”

Jinho let out a loud sigh, his nervous fidgeting coming to a stuttering halt. 

“I don’t, but I liked something else.” Jinho’s eyes flickered up to meet Yuto’s once more. Yuto looked absolutely dumbfounded, but Jinho could see the realization slowly start to sink in as Jinho’s hands found their way towards Yuto’s face. The small pads of his fingers grazed lightly again Yuto’s warm, tan skin, sending an almost paralyzing tingle through his skin. 

“If you want to know why I’m so nice to you,” Jinho lifted up from his seat and brought himself closer to Yuto, eventually perching on his lap, “I could show you.” 

Yuto closed his eyes out of nervous habit as soon as Jinho had crawled on top of him. The next thing he felt was Jinho’s hands, slightly quivering, wrap themselves delicately against the nape of his neck. He felt a huff of warm air breeze over his lips, eventually melting into the complete warmth of Jinho’s mouth against his. Jinho kissed deeply yet softly, it felt like he was melting into Yuto. Their lips parted only for a second before Yuto had found the courage to kiss back, eagerly grabbing and cupping the back of Jinho’s head, deepening the kiss. The kisses all blurred into each other in a warm, blissful, haze; much like the month had felt for the two. 

Jinho pulled back from Yuto after a minute, his lips slick with spit, his eyes dreamily hooded; a sight Yuto had fantasized about for years. 

“I’m sorry, Yuto. I’m sorry I was such a dumb teenager who lied to amuse his friends.” Jinho apologized.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t just have talked to you about it. I wasted so much time.” Yuto replied, his voice hushed.

Jinho kissed Yuto again, rubbing his thumb along his sharp jawline. He pulled back, smiling warmly at Yuto.

“We really were a bunch of stubborn assholes, huh?” Jinho chuckled.

Yuto nodded, a shy smile forming. Yuto bashfully rubbed the back of his own neck. 

“I know this is kind of dumb, considering you’re on my lap and everything, but uh...does this mean you’re into me?”

Jinho could hardly keep himself from bursting into laughter. Yuto’s smile quickly dropped, thinking his hyung’s laugh was aimed at him. 

“No, Yuto! I do this to all the guys!” Jinho rolled his eyes.

“Oh…” Yuto’s voice sank, Jinho finally realizing that the object of his affection couldn’t read his sarcasm. If it weren’t so sad, Jinho would have thought the younger man’s pout was the cutest thing he's seen all day.

“I’m joking! Joking! Hmmm...how can I put this…” Jinho scratched his chin performatively, “Ah!”

Jinho wrapped his arms around Yuto’s neck, making it impossible for Yuto to look away.

“ _ Aishiteru _ , Yuto-kun.”

Yuto was pretty sure he could feel his skin turn bright red despite not being able to see it. He struggled to look away bashfully, his tsundere nature coming out in full force, but Jinho kept moving his face around to meet wherever Yuto’s was headed.

“Come on, senpai, I just confessed to you! What do you have to say to me?” Jinho smirked.

“Jinho, hyung, you…” Yuto finally looked back at his beloved, “You used the wrong honorific.” 

Jinho quickly pulled his arms away from around Yuto’s neck to slap Yuto’s shoulder in a huff. 

“I knew that! I was trying to be cute, idiot!” Jinho whined. It was very apparent he had picked up his flirting habits from Kino. 

Yuto gently put his hand on the back of Jinho’s neck, guiding him closer as he kissed his forehead. 

“ _ Aishiteru _ , Jinho-chan.” 

The two sat in place like that for a moment, Yuto’s lips gently pressed against Jinho’s forehead, Jinho’s palms flush against Yuto’s chest. It finally felt like that tension that had been between them for years was finally gone. There was no more anger…

“Wait a minute,” Jinho pulled back, his brow furrowed, “What did you call me?”

Yuto chuckled and wrapped his arms around Jinho, pulling him even closer.

“Yuto-ah! I am your hyung and you will address me as such!” Jinho whined as he squirmed in Yuto’s tight embrace.”Yuto-ahh!”

“Shhh~” Yuto hushed, patting his back and bouncing his knee patronizingly. Jinho eventually gave up his struggle and laid defeated against Yuto’s chest. 

“You,” Jinho tugged Yuto’s sleeve, “You know I mean it, right?”

“Hm?” Yuto stared down in confusion.

“That I love you...and stuff.” Jinho blushed.

Yuto smiled and hugged Jinho tighter, “And stuff.”   
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter to go! Thanks for following along and reading! I’m going to write a JinhoXYuto one shot after this series as well so keep an eye out :3


	6. Lets Go Together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The grand finale to this short series!

In private Jinho and Yuto were inseparable, practically leeches the way they clung to each other. Yuto claimed it was to make up for lost time, Jinho would tell you it was fate; but if anything was for certain it was that these two were absolutely, entirely, rom-com level in love with each other and they wanted to shout it from the rooftops so that everyone would know.

Except for their former team mates. 

“You doing something new with your hair? Or like, got a new skin cream or something?” Kino beamed, pressing a finger into Jinho’s soft cheek. 

Jinho, Kino, and Shinwon were at their favorite coffee shop on campus catching up after weeks of Jinho holing up in his studio finishing his demo. Shinwon and Kino were surprised to see Jinho being social at all, let alone being the one initiating it; having texted the two to meet for coffee in the first place. 

“Nah, not really. I did switch toothpaste brands, though.” Jinho chuckled, poking Kino back playfully. Shinwon exchanged a curious glance with his blue haired friend.

“You’re more than just minty fresh,” Shinwon tapped his own chin, “You’re _ different. _What’s your deal, Jo Jinho?”

Jinho shrugged, still unable to wipe the pleasant smile from his face, but still feigning ignorance. 

“Guess I’m just happy the demo is done!” Jinho grinned. 

Shinwon and Kino looked back at each other once more; without even saying a word they both knew they didn’t believe him. Jinho was a sweet person, always had been, but he was never the type to initiate social gatherings or celebrate work assignments. He had always been humble, almost to the point you’d think he’d never been proud of his own work in his entire life. 

“Okay,” Shinwon took a big swig of his coffee and dramatically slammed the cup down, “Cut the crap, hyung! That’s not why you called us here! Something else is going on!”

“What would be _ going on _, Wonnie? Stop being ridiculous.” Jinho shook his head, his smile still very present. 

“He’s got a point, Jinho-ah.” Kino calmy smiled back, “Don’t get me wrong, we love seeing you, but uh...you haven’t been the best at keeping in touch over the past few years, so this kinda comes out of the blue…”

Jinho’s smile diminished. 

“I’m...I’m really sorry, guys. I know I kind of fell off the map once grad school started...but I wanna make up for that now, if you’ll let me.” 

Kino placed his hand over his chest, cocking his head slightly. “Hyung, of course! We really missed y-“

“I GOT IT!” Shinwon blurted out, “YOU’RE GETTING LAID!” 

If Jinho were an actor like Changgu maybe he would have been able to play it cool in the face of such a bold (and rather loud) accusation, but he wasn’t, so all he could do was jump back in his seat in pure and utter shock. 

“Shinwon! We were having a _ moment _, you idiot!” Kino whined, slamming his fists against the table. 

“Look at his face! He’s so red!” Shinwon laughed, “That’s gotta be it!”

Jinho shook his head furiously, “What are you talking about? Why would I meet up with you two just to say something like that?!”

Shinwon leaned forwards towards Jinho, his head cradled in his palms, a wide smirk on his face, “When the dick is that good it’s hard to keep a secret, Jinh-ACK!”

Kino gently slapped Shinwon’s cheek. “Don’t be so _ lewd, _Ko Shinwon!”

“Thanks, Hyunggu-ah.” Jinho nervously smiled. 

Kino turned his attention back to Jinho, his once sweet expression now blunt and curious,”So who is it?” 

Jinho’s heart was beating out of his chest; he loved his friends, could trust them with most things, but Yuto and him were different. They were new and in their own safe bubble away from the ever present drama in their group. As much as he wanted to tell them, he didn’t know if he wanted his and Yuto’s secret to end. 

“No one you would know. It was a dating app hookup. Probably won’t go past a one night stand.” Jinho lied through his teeth. 

Kino sighed, falling back into his seat with crossed arms, “What a let-down. I was hoping for some juicy gossip.” 

Shinwon followed suit, “I was so sure it was Yuto, too. Damn, that would have been a story.”

Kino gasps excitedly, “Oh my god, could you _ imagine? _ I would lose my shit if those two became a thing.” 

“Nope, Yuto and I are buds. Pals. Chums.” Jinho could hardly keep it together, trying to cover his clunky lies by shoving a fancy pastry in his mouth.

“Honestly, it’s a miracle you two aren’t at each other’s throats anymore. I guess we should just be thankful for that.” Kino shrugged. 

Jinho nodded, sensing his secret was safe another day. But he couldn’t help but notice the intent gaze Shinwon had on him; perhaps Jinho’s lie wasn’t good enough to fool him, or perhaps Shinwon was just zoning out after too much sugar in his drink, but he didn’t say anything, so the group let it go. 

___

“I’m pretty sure Wooseok thinks I’m dating someone back home in Nagano.” Yuto laughed, laying his arm across the pillow beside him. Jinho, returning from his apartment kitchen with water glass in hand, shuffled sleepily to the bed where Yuto was laying snug under the covers.

“At least Wooseok isn’t the type to ask every single detail of your sex life. I had to make up a whole identity for my _ one night stand _I supposedly had.” Jinho rolled his eyes. 

“What’s his name?” Yuto smirked. 

“Minhyun.”

“Did you come up with that on the spot or does it have to do with a certain Urban Electro Band?”

“A lot of people have the name Minhyun, dummy. What’s your fake Nagano boyfriend’s name?”

Yuto paused for a moment before sheepishly replying, “Baekho.” 

Jinho cocked his eyebrow, smiling playfully.

“It was either Baekho or Zoro, and Wooseok reads One Piece so that was out of the question.” Yuto retorted, bashfully looking away from Jinho. 

Jinho set his glass on his nightstand and sat on the edge of the bed. Yuto leaned over and wrapped his strong but inviting arms around Jinho’s waist, gently pulling him further on to the bed. He wasted no time in kissing the back of his partner’s neck, soft but wanting. A giggle escaped from Jinho as he eased into Yuto’s touches. 

“Yuto-ah~” Jinho softly whined. 

Yuto smiled against Jinho’s neck as he kissed further down, eventually reaching his collarbones. His hands made their way to the bottom of Jinho’s loose t-shirt, tugging upwards in an attempt to remove it. After a few moments of struggling, Jinho assisted Yuto in pulling his shirt off, tossing it aside. 

Yuto continued kissing Jinho’s collarbones, now uninterrupted by Jinho’s old gym class shirt. He slowly trailed further down his chest, feeling Jinho squirm under Yuto’s sensitive touch. Feeling bold, Yuto gently grazed his teeth against one of Jinho’s nipples, letting his tongue wash over soon after. Jinho let out a slight hiss, his skin blooming small goosebumps. 

“Like that?” Yuto cooed, looking up at his flustered partner. 

Jinho nodded, his eyes closed, lost in the moment. Yuto continued to work his nipple in his mouth, using his hand to rub gentle circles around the other. Jinho moaned. The two of them had only been intimate a handful of times in the month or so they had been secretly dating, but Yuto was proving himself to be a quick learner. 

Jinho tugged at Yuto’s tank top, finally opening one eye to make bashful contact with the man currently licking Jinho like his life depended on it. 

“You too. Off.” Jinho commanded. 

If Jinho had learned anything about Yuto’s sexual nature in the past month, it was that Yuto loved taking direction. He was a submissive dream, not thinking twice before quickly removing his top and getting back to work. Jinho was already in awe that this stunning man was sleeping with him, but the fact he had also landed himself a perfect sub to suit his more dominant leanings was icing on top of the cake. 

“Yuto.” Jinho’s voice was calm but firm. 

Yuto looked up, hovering over Jinho’s body. “Yes?”

Jinho tapped his mouth. Yuto leaned forward and kissed Jinho’s lips, his hands still firmly on Jinho’s chest. Jinho cupped Yuto’s face with his hands, melting into his touch. 

“Yuto,” Jinho sighed between kisses, “I love you.”

“I love you too, Jinho.” 

“Like, a lot.” Jinho pressed a kiss to Yuto’s cheek. 

“Yeah?” Yuto chuckled, kissing his lips again. 

“Yeah. Like more than anyone kind of a lot.” 

“My condolences, hyung.” 

“Like...I kind of...wanna tell our friends a lot.” Jinho pulled back from Yuto, a slight blush spread across his face. 

Yuto’s mouth fell open slightly in surprise at Jinho’s words. “Are...are you sure?”

Jinho nodded, “If I have to keep you a secret anymore I’m gonna explode. I mean, look at you!” 

Yuto looked down at himself, shirtless in a pair of pajama pants that had a faded stain on the leg from a tragic pizza accident the two had earlier in the kitchen. 

“You could probably find someone better than me. Someone who knows how to blow on their food before eating it at least.” Yuto shrugged, scratching off some dried sauce he swore he had already gotten off. Jinho wrapped his arms around Yuto’s waist and leaned his head against his chest. 

“I’m serious, Yuto. I’m sick of telling everyone _ Minhyun _ dicked me down. I want to tell them _ you _dicked me down.” 

“Please don’t phrase it that way, hyung. Hongseok will never let me live it down.” 

“Yuto-ah~” Jinho buried his face in Yuto’s chest. 

“It’s fine with me, Hyung. I want to tell them too.” Yuto lifted up Jinho’s chin to face him, kissing his cheek softly. “You’re the hardest secret to keep.” 

The two kissed, long and slow, fitting each other perfectly. 

“If only we could get those idiots to get along,” Jinho sighed, “I don’t want them starting shit over us being together. Hui is really protective of me.” 

“Yeah, I’ve noticed. It’s probably ‘cause I’m best friends with Wooseok. I don’t get what the hell Hui is mad at him about anyways, do you?”

Jinho shrugged, “He always switches subjects when it’s brought up.”

The two propped themselves up against each other, looking rather dejected. 

“We’re just gonna add more fuel to the fire, aren’t we?” Jinho’s voice was hush. Yuto nodded. The air felt sour. 

But something in Yuto’s gut wouldn’t let him accept defeat. 

“You know what, fuck it! We’re all adults here! We can’t let them stop us because of their dumb attitudes! We got over our Highschool beef and now look at us!”

“Yeah! If we can do it so can they!”

“Well, I mean, not quite like this.” Yuto eyed Jinho’s exposed chest, now littered with pink bite marks. 

“I mean maybe if Hyunggu made a decision…”

“Oh god, I almost forgot about that whole situation.”

Yuto grabbed Jinho’s small hands in his with sudden excitement, “Let’s do it! Let’s pull a Shinwon!”

Jinho looked concerned at his confident partner, “Last time I pulled a Shinwon I puked in my neighbors mailbox.” 

“No! Not that kind of Shinwon! A ‘getting-the-team-back-together-scheme’ kinda Shinwon!” Yuto was beaming at his idea, the kind of blind confidence the youngest of the team were notorious for. It was charming, cute even, but Jinho knew it would take more than a nice smile and good intentions to make their friend group click. Jinho brought Yuto’s hands to his lips and placed a gentle kiss on them.

“If that’s what you want to do, I’m in.” Jinho smiled back at Yuto. “Though don’t be surprised if it ends in as much of a disaster as the reunion.”

“That disaster brought me back to you, though!” Yuto excitedly hugged Jinho. Never in a million years did Jinho picture a scenario like this, let alone with the notoriously cold Yuto Adachi, but he was excited at the new developments in his life. For once change didn’t seem so scary, it was exciting, and he wanted to embrace it even further. 

“So,” Yuto pulled away from the hug, “where do we start?”

Jinho sighed, “We’ll need some help.”

___

“I KNEW IT!” Shinwon jumped up from his seat excitedly, “YOU AND ADACHI ARE FU-“

Jinho quickly clapped his hand over Shinwon’s mouth.

“We are in puBLIC, SHINWON!” 

Jinho surveyed their surroundings nervously; no one in the park seemed to be alarmed by Shinwon. Crisis averted. Jinho removed his hand and sat back on the bench with his smug friend. 

“You and Adachi are _ doin’ it _.” Shinwon whispered with a smirk. 

“If by it you mean a healthy adult relationship built on trust and communication, then yes. We are _ doin’ it. _” Jinho crossed his arms matter of factly. Shinwon wiggled his eyebrow continuously at Jinho, lightly jabbing him with his elbow. 

“...and also sex stuff…” Jinho bashfully murmured. 

“I’m so happy for you, hyung!” Shinwon wrapped the smaller man in a big bear hug.

“Thanks, Wonnie.” Jinho patted Shinwon’s back. 

“So how did Hui and Wooseok take the news? That had to be an awkward conversation.” Shinwon released Jinho from the hug. 

“Well, that’s actually why I wanted to talk to you, I haven’t exactly _ told _them yet.” Jinho rubbed the back of his neck. “Yuto and I haven’t told anyone. You’re the first to know.”

“Hyung,” Shinwon put his hand over his heart, “I’m honored. You were right to come to me too! The others aren’t as _ mature _as I am about these sorts of things.”

“Sure, Wonnie. Listen, we want to tell everyone but we’re worried about all the drama in the team making it difficult. We want to end the teams beef once and for all.”

Shinwon let out a loud laugh, “Hyung! What do you think I’ve been trying to do for the last nine years? It’s damn near impossible!”

“Not if Yuto and I could do it! There’s got to be a way! Even if we can just get Hui and Wooseok to be friendly again…”

“That ain’t happening anytime soon.”

“Why not? What’s their deal?”

Shinwon sighed, “Yuto and you had the pleasure of going to a different middle school than us, so you don’t know the origin story, but believe it or not Wooseok and Hui were best friends back in the day.”

“Really?”

“Yup. Those two and a kid named Hyojong were inseparable.”

“Hyojong...I feel like I’ve heard Hui mention him before…”

“Hyojong was the most chill dude you’ve ever met. He was so sweet and kind to everybody; even perfect strangers. He was the glue that kept Wooseok and Hui together.”

“Did...did something happen to him?” 

“In 7th grade his family moved to the countryside. Once he was gone Hui and Wooseok were fighting all the time. Eventually they just drifted apart.”

“Oh,” Jinho looked defeated, “That’s it?”

Shinwon shrugged, “That’s all Hui’d ever tell me. There could be more to it but hell if I know.” 

Jinho groaned, “Well, who would know?”

Shinwon pontificated for a moment before meeting eyes with Jinho, eyebrows raising as soon as an idea popped in his head. 

“I’ll make some calls.” Shinwon grinned. 

___

It had been weeks since Changgu and Yanan made their promise to break off their communications with Hyunggu. What they thought was going to be a simple task actually took quite the toll on the two men, both slipping multiple times before deciding to ignore his calls all together. Instead, whenever one of the men had an urge to reply to one of Kino’s many flirtatious texts, they called each other in an effort to scratch the itch. 

The calls initially were awkward; Changgu’s dad jokes making Yanan groan every time without fail, Yanan’s blunt nature offending Yanan more often than not. But over the course of a month they had found each other texting and calling multiple times a day. They had found routine in avoiding Hyunggu. 

“Did you get the invite? The Jinho thing?” Yanan asked, scrubbing a plate with both hands, his phone nestled between his ear and his shoulder. 

“Hmm,” Changgu’s voice hummed through the speaker, “Lemme see...was it an email or like a letter-letter?”

“It’s Jinho-hyung, what do you think?”

Yanan could hear the shuffling of paper through the phone. 

“Ah! Handwritten too, what a class act hyung is.” Changgu chuckled. 

Yanan grinned slightly at the sound, “It’s for his demo. He’s hosting a listening party at his school. Sounds pretty cool, I guess.”

“Wah! A listening party? He’s such a professional!”

“You say that like you don’t realize your face is on every detergent ad in Korea, Changgu.” Yanan smirked, setting the now clean plate in the drying rack next to his sink. 

“Detergent ads aren’t necessarily my _ calling _, Yannie. Not like music is to Jinho! We should go support him!”

“I plan on going, but I guess I’m a little worried about someone else going…” 

“Well,” Changgu paused for a moment, sounding nervous to speak again, “I’ll be there too. If we have each other we can keep each other accountable.”

“Okay. Sounds like we have a plan then.” 

“Sure does. Goodnight, Yannie.”

“‘Night, Changgu.”

Yanan’s tone was level and cool as he hung up the phone, but he would absolutely melt if Changgu could see how much he was smiling. 

__

It had been four months since the infamously chaotic reunion. Every person in that gymnasium had placed their bets that none of the Tentastic Baseball team would ever step foot in the same room ever again after that. But what those reunion goers didn’t count for was the tenacity of one Ko Shinwon and his newly acquired partners in crime Yuto and Jinho. 

“Listening party this way.” A curious looking Hui read aloud from a sign plastered on Jinho’s college’s front doors. He looked to his left to where the arrow was pointing, expecting to find another building, but instead seeing the silver chain gates of the athletic fields. He adjusted his grip on the bottle of wine he was carrying before setting off towards the party. 

As he got closer to the fields he noticed strings of tea lights lining the chain-link fences. He saw a few people standing on a baseball field, happily chatting. He could make out Shinwon and Jinho at first, but as he got closer he noticed the presence of none other than Adachi Yuto and Jung Wooseok. 

“Hui! You made it!” Jinho waved excitedly, ushering his friend towards the small group. If it weren’t for his mortal enemy standing a few feet away he would have thought the scene looked cozy: the baseball field lit up by twinkling lights, soft music playing from a nearby speaker. 

“Congratulations on your demo, hyung.” Hui cautiously smiled, handing the bottle of wine to Jinho. 

“Thank you so much!” Jinho hugged his friend tightly. As they released from the hug, Hui leaned in towards Jinho, his voice a whisper, “Not to make things weird but, uh, why are these guys the only people here?”

“Well, your specific invitations said to come here a bit earlier.” Jinho nervously looked around. 

“What? Why?” Hui cocked his head. 

“I, um, may have invited someone special.” 

And as if fate, that special someone made their appearance right at that moment. 

“Hwitaek! Wooseokie! Yo!” A friendly voice called out. 

The two mentioned turned in shock to see none other than Kim Hyojong, their laid-back but effortlessly stylish childhood friend, approaching them on the field. 

“Hyo-Hyojong?!” Hui called out. 

“Hyung!” Wooseok ran up to Hyojong, wrapping him in a tight hug, overpowering him easily. Hyojong laughed as his friend shook him from side to side. 

“Someone drank their milk in Highschool, damn kid!” Hyojong removed himself from Wooseok’s grip and turned to Hui, “You should have shared with, Hwitaek.” He cackled. Hui was holding back tears, his bottom lip quivering. 

“Hyojong…” Hui whined. Hyojong hugged him, Hui now fully sobbing into his friend’s shoulder. 

“Good to see you, Hui.” Hyojong cooed. 

“Why are you here?” Hui tried to compose himself, wiping away his tears. 

“Wonnie called me up. Said you two have been giving him a lot of trouble since I left.” Hyojong grinned. Hui and Wooseok eyed each other, embarrassment evident on their faces. 

“Why didn’t you come and visit?” Wooseok pouted. 

“I wanted to, but it’s been a couple of crazy years. A lot has happened. But I’m visiting now aren’t I? And I come bearing gifts!” 

Hui and Wooseok both perked up at the word, watching Hyojong intently like hungry dogs as he rummaged through his bag. Hyojong pulled out a bag of cat shaped cookies and handed them to Wooseok. Wooseok gasped, excitedly jumping up and down like a little kid. 

“For the kid, some homemade cat cookies courtesy of my girlfriend.” 

“Wow! They’re so cute! I’ll feel bad eating them!” Wooseok gasped, already opening up the package to cram a handful in his mouth. 

“Hyuna loves cats too. You two would get along.” Hyojong smiled. 

“That’s why you haven’t visited! It’s this Hyuna girl!” Hui pouted. 

“If you met her you’d fall in love too.” Hyojong chuckled. 

“Hyo~” Hui whined. The team knew Hui was a glutton for affection, but they underestimated just how much until they saw him with Hyojong. 

“I didn’t forget about you, Hui!” Hyojong took another item out of his bag: a beat up, dark brown catchers mitt. The thumb of the mitt had a daisy painted on it, along with two H’a and a W. Hui gasped as soon as he held it in his own hands. 

“My-my old mitt? But-“ Hui tripped on his words, “I thought…” Hui looked up at Wooseok. Wooseok seemed just as confused as the rest of the group behind him. 

“I took it with me when I left. I was gonna say something but I knew you would be hard-pressed to part with it.” Hyojong rubbed his neck bashfully, “I just wanted something to remember you two by.”

“Hyojong! You jerk! I thought Wooseok had stolen it this whole time! You should have told me!” Hui burst into tears again. 

“Is that why you’ve been so mean to me?!” Wooseok exclaimed. 

Hui nodded, sobbing uncontrollably, “I-I thought you took it and - and I didn’t wanna-l-lose the last connection to -to Hyo-joooong!”

Wooseok suddenly wrapped his arms around Hui, pulling him in for a hug. His hyung was sobbing into his shirt, still holding on to the mitt as he hugged Wooseok back. 

“You’re an idiot, hyung. I would never do something like that.” Wooseok replied. 

“Gosh,” Hyojong shook his head with a smile, “You two are a mess without me.” 

“We just got here and those two are already crying?” Hongseok called out from a distance. The taller man was joined by Yanan, Changgu, and Hyunggu.

“It’s okay! It’s a good cry this time!” Shinwon proudly patted Hui on the back, still wrapped in a bear hug from Wooseok. 

“Hyojong, is that you?” Hyunggu excitedly ran towards the older blonde man. 

“Shit, the gangs all here.” Hyojong chuckled, hugging Hyunggu. 

Jinho looked over towards Yuto nervously, everyone was there now. It was time to sink or swim. Yuto met Jinho’s gaze, giving him a slight nod as encouragement to speak. 

“Now that everyone’s here,” Jinho raised his voice, “I guess I want to get the show on the road and play you all my demo.” 

Excited cheers erupted from the group, besides a rather distracted looking Yanan who could only manage a small clap. 

Jinho took out his phone, ready to start the music.

“But before I do, I just wanna say that I didn’t do this alone. I had a lot of help and a lot of inspiration from someone…” Jinho blushed. Yuto nervously cracked his knuckles. 

“This person made me realize that I wasted a lot of time being angry at the past. I was only holding myself back by not letting any of you in. And for that I’m sorry, but I want to be a better friend starting right now

The group for once looked rather endeared, even Hongseok found himself smiling at the smaller man. 

“And friends always tell the truth.” 

“You watch Stranger Things too, hyung? So rad!” Shinwon excitedly blurred out, earning a heated gaze from Jinho and a few boisterous laughs from the group. 

“As I was _ saying _, friends always tell the truth and I wanted to just say that-that-“ Jinho tensed up. Yuto could sense the discomfort coming from Jinho so he grabbed his hand without a moments notice. 

“Jinho-hyung and I are dating!” Yuto nervously shouted, his eyes closed, afraid to see the group’s reaction. Jinho gasped at his boyfriend’s announcement. 

A silence filled the night air, the only thing audible was the slight hum of the breeze and Jinho’s rapid heartbeat in his ears. 

“Cool.” Yanan said matter of factly. 

“Wah?” Yuto opened his eyes to find that his friends were smiling, nodding, some looking plain unsurprised (that someone being Hongseok). 

“I’d like to say I’m surprised but you have been writing his name in all of your notebooks since like the 9th grade.” Hui chuckled. Jinho could feel heat overtaking his face. 

“What? You have?” Yuto cooed, squeezing Jinho’s hand. Jinho bashfully looked away from his doting boyfriend’s gaze. 

“Hui!” Jinho whined. 

“Congrats you two! Of course we support you!” Hyunggu ran up to the pair and hugged them both. 

“Now can we hear this demo? I was promised some good music, not a rom com.” Hongseok snickered. 

“Ah! Yes! Without further ado!” Jinho pushed play on his phone, the music streaming from the nearby speakers he set up by the side of the field. The air was filled with the beautiful sounds of Jinho’s smooth voice. The group sat on the field, looking up at the stars as the music played. Jinho’s head in Yuto’s lap; Wooseok, Hui, and Hyojong laying in a row; Hongseok and Shinwon pointing out constellations; Yanan and Changgu lying inches apart, slowly inching closer as the night progressed; Kino curiously peeking over at the two from afar. 

“It’s really beautiful, hyung.” Yuto’s deep voice cooed. 

“Thank you, Yuto-Ah.” Jinho cuddled in closer to his chest, a wave of calm washing over him. 

As soon as the demo ended the group erupted into applause. They all sat up, Jinho and Yuto taking in the appreciation from their friends. 

“Hey,” Hui stood up, “While we’re here, why don’t we play a quick game?” 

“You two _ just _made up and now you want to tempt the fates again?” Yanan groaned. 

“Aw, come on!” Shinwon put his arm around Hui’s shoulder, “We’re all feeling pretty good about ourselves, we could use to be knocked down a few pegs!”

Hyojong held up Hui’s old mitt, “We’ve got a mitt! We just need a ball and a bat!”

Yuto got up, leaving Jinho to fall back on his hands for a moment. He ran over to his work bag and unzipped it, revealing a bat and a ball. 

“Babe, why’d you bring those?” Jinho asked. 

“I can pull a Shinwon too sometimes!” Yuto grinned, “Why’d you think I suggested we meet on the field?”

Jinho rolled his eyes and got back on his feet. 

“Just promise you won’t break up with me if you get too frustrated.” He chuckled. 

“No promises.” Yuto winked. 

The team took their places, as if muscle memory from long ago. Yuto took his spot on the pitchers mound. Wooseok was up to bat. Jinho admired the way the tea lights lit up his friends faces, making the scene endearing yet familiar. This time around they were older, more complex, more secure with themselves; But one thing remained the same-

“Fuck! My eye!” Hongseok shouted, the thud of the ball reverberating off his skin. 

They were still terrible at baseball. 

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That’s it, folks!! Thank you so much for reading and commenting and dropping kudos for this! This was my first series back as a fan fic writer and my first as a Pentagon fic writer! I had a lot of fun making it, even though some of it was more rushed than I’d like, but I just wanted to make something fun and cute to sum up the Humph! Era! 
> 
> Please look forward to my future works and hopefully a short, sexy one shot feat Yuto and Jinho, coming soon~ 
> 
> But as for my next piece, I kind of want to write a Maknae line fic! Or some Wooyu! 
> 
> Thanks for reading <3

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! Feel free to leave a kudos or a friendly comment if you dig it!


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